During a Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) Development Dialogue webinar hosted recently, experts agreed that the brunt of a transition away from coal would be borne by vulnerable stakeholders and that it had to be mitigated.

The webinar explored ground-level impacts associated with a just transition away from coal to renewable energy and was part of a series of conversations that TIPS has undertaken to review the transition’s impact on vulnerable stakeholders.

This is against a backdrop of already high levels of inequality, poverty and unemployment in the country.

TIPS pointed out that many vulnerable stakeholders, such as low-income communities, workers and small businesses, relied on coal-related activities for their livelihood and were not necessarily skilled or able to make use of other employment and business opportunities.

In the short term, the impact on these groups of people would primarily materialise in the coal value chain, which TIPS economist Muhammed Patel highlighted directly employed 120 000 people and underpinned the economies of entire municipalities in many parts of the country, particularly in Mpumalanga.

However, these impacts can be mitigated through proactive resilience plans towards a truly just transition and a reduced negative impact on those who rely on the coal value chain for survival.

Such a plan would include diversifying the economy of Mpumalanga, as well as ensuring that service delivery is maintained, if not enhanced.

TIPS said opportunities to this end would range from mining rehabilitation to coal waste beneficiation and renewable energy.

TIPS cited an expert from Stellenbosch University Michelle Cruywagen, who estimated that it would cost between R6-billion and R16-billion over a 20-year period to effect a just transition away from coal.

“Renewable energy technologies arise as an answer to the demise of coal-related activities, rather than a threat.

“Renewable energy technologies, as part of a larger rejuvenation strategy, provide an opportunity to revitalize Mpumalanga. This can take the form of the rollout of power generation – leveraging the existing grid infrastructure – as well as the development of manufacturing capacity in the region.

“Associated with a large-scale rollout, renewable energy could create a vast amount of jobs in the country, which would contribute to a just transition in the country,” TIPS stated.

During the dialogue, Sam Tambani Research Institute senior researcher Pulane Nkalai and environmental organisation GroundWork researcher David Hallowes, highlighted the importance of ensuring workers’ and communities’ rights are protected in the process, as many past transition processes locally and globally were not particularly known to have been just and inclusive.

TIPS senior economist Gaylor Montmasson-Clair concluded that “this is a call to action to embrace the need for a just transition, by accelerating the diversification of the Mpumalanga economy to renewable energy, as well as other sustainable activities, rather than an encouragement to futilely attempt to hinder an inevitable transition”.