While the Green Economy Tracker (GET) for South Africa shows there are strong policies supporting green economy efforts, clear implementation targets are still lacking, research institution Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (Tips) said last month.

South Africa’s post-Covid recovery plan – the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) – does have a clear aim to inclusively decarbonise the economy, but there are more opportunities for green growth, said Tips researcher Elize Hattingh.

Covid-19 had the effect of deepening poverty, inequality and unemployment in various countries globally, which has led to governments enacting measures to lessen the impact of the pandemic, as well as ensure sustainability through green economies.

European Union representative in South Africa Lidia Afonso Gallegos highlighted during a recent Tips-hosted webinar how the core goal of international assistance has shifted, owing to a realisation that addressing climate change cannot be done in isolation of addressing inequality and poverty.

Tips, in collaboration with the Green Economy Coalition, unpacked South Africa’s GET status, which benchmarked the country’s policies against other nations’ efforts to transition to green economy.

The GET covers 32 countries and tracks post-Covid recovery and other key policies.

Where South Africa was doing well, Hattingh said, was in relation to its pro-poor policies and an increased percentage of research going into green products.

However, there was scope for improvement in terms of exporting green products and an increased focus on localisation.

Hattingh noted that the GET’s ranking of South Africa in terms of green recovery was relatively low, partly owing to the fact that, while ambitious commitments had been made to address inclusive green recovery, not all had been implemented.

During a panel discussion on whether South Africa is on the right track regarding its Covid-19 recovery, National Treasury environmental economics director Georgina Ryan pointed out that “the structural reform agenda, at its heart, is close to the green economy recovery”.

The ERRP, she explained, prioritises infrastructure, energy, employment and industrial growth, while the green interventions it endorses centre on green industrialisation opportunities across sectors.

However, Institute for Economic Justice representative Basani Baloyi argued, that while the ERRP emphasises job creation, it does not commit to the broader structural transformation of the economy.

She pointed to a disconnect between industrial policy instruments and the green economy, as the ERRP reinforces a fossil fuel-based economy.

A final issue to emerge was the question of data collection in relation to tracking green economy progress.

Hattingh pointed to the need for a central green economy data house to track green economy progress.