The Just Energy Transition is especially nuanced in the South African context. This is due to our significant current socio-economic challenges and the role of the coal sector in the economic landscape of municipalities in, especially in Mpumalanga. This paper summarises a key observation by BDO regarding the viability of our current planning related to the Just Energy Transition.
South Africa’s current Just Energy Transition planning focuses on job creation, or rather, job substitution in the context of developing secondary economies. However, in the absence of targeted educational and health support, given the current socio-economic context of the Mpumalanga Province (as a proxy example), these initiatives cannot be sustainable in the long term.
This is because the building blocks that will be required to drive the envisioned change as a result and impact of the Just Energy Transition, in 10-15 years from now, are left at the wayside.
THESE BUILDING BLOCKS ARE:
- Equitable access to early childhood development to build the necessary educational foundation for the future skills we will need in the face of the Just Energy Transition; and
- Improved community health to support skills diversification and productivity in support of the Just Energy Transition.
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