Our Approach

Empowering Just Energy Transition in South Africa

The JET PMU was established by the Presidency in January 2023 to provide an implementation roadmap for the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET IP); convene role-players; and build partnerships for JET IP delivery. The JET PMU is mandated to find innovative solutions to JET implementation problems; mobilise and guide sources of finance to address JET IP needs; and ensure transparent monitoring and evaluation of JET IP delivery and results. Based on feedback from stakeholder engagements on the JET IP, the JET PMU produced the JET Implementation Plan 2023 – 2027 that was approved by Cabinet in November 2023.

R1.5 Trillion Investment Plan for a Just Transition

Prioritising support for South African communities and workers while decarbonising the electricity, green hydrogen, and new energy vehicle sectors.

Decarbonisation as an Economic Growth Catalyst

Fostering South Africa’s economic diversification, industrialisation, and localisation, with benefits in skills development, employment, and livelihoods.

Institutionalising Just Energy Transition

Establishing structures across South African government and society to drive the Just Energy Transition forward.

Strategies and Methods for South Africa’s Just Energy Transition

South Africa’s Just Energy Transition (JET) is a comprehensive effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels while fostering social and economic growth. The transition focuses on decarbonizing key sectors, including electricity, new energy vehicles, and green hydrogen. The initiative aims to meet the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets of reducing carbon emissions to 420-350 megatonnes of CO2 by 2030.

The six portfolios of the JET:

Decarbonising South Africa’s Electricity Sector

South Africa’s electricity sector is central to its efforts to establish a low-carbon economy.
Electricity generation accounted for 43% of the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2000 and 45% in 2020. The majority of these emissions are generated by 15 coal-fired power plants owned by Eskom.
South Africa’s ability to meet its decarbonisation goals in the electricity sector will depend on its ability to manage a planned and integrated programme of four parallel efforts:
- Large-scale and distributed Renewable Energy (RE) generation
- Large-scale transmission network extension
- Widespread upgrades of distribution systems
- Decommissioning, repurposing, and repowering with RE, the coal power stations which reach end of their economic life, without disrupting electricity supply, and in a way that proactively supports the affected workers, communities, and value chains to transition into new economic opportunities.

Mpumalanga Just Transition (JT)

The JET provides Mpumalanga with an opportunity to diversify from a coal intensive economy to a knowledge, service, technology-based, and green economy that will foster more jobs and attract new skills and investment to the Province.
Mpumalanga already has well-connected infrastructure networks that include roads, railways, broadband, and electricity transmission lines.
The Province has a well-established agricultural sector and possesses nearly 50% of South Africa’s high potential arable land, positioning it to take greater advantage of opportunities in agriculture and tourism.
Mpumalanga has a strong private sector with a range of resources, and hosts a number of multinational companies with high-skilled workforces, which are in the process of transitioning their operations to net-zero.
With one of the youngest populations in the country, Mpumalanga offers opportunities for the growth of new industries.
The Mpumalanga provincial government has developed a series of plans, including the Mpumalanga Green Economy Development Plan (MGEDP), that seek to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the Just Transition in the province.

New Energy Vehicle (NEV) sector

The global shift to new energy vehicles (NEVs) and the need to decarbonise transport sets the impetus for a transition in the local automotive sector in a manner that must protect sector employment and promote new growth in sustainable manufacturing.
As the European markets for South Africa’s automotive exports become increasingly regulated to exclude internal combustion engine vehicles, South Africa’s transition to NEVs is essential.
Local adoption of NEVs is an important part of ensuring the sustainability of the automotive manufacturing sector, and will accelerate decarbonisation, result in cleaner public and private transport systems, and support healthier cities.
The JET will promote NEV growth pathways in logistics, last mile delivery, public transport, as well as developments in the battery value chain.

Green Hydrogen (GH2)

South Africa has multiple structural and strategic advantages that underpin its development ofthe global green hydrogen (GH2) market, including world-class renewable energy resources, ample land for development, significant group metals reserves, and beneficiation technology.

By leveraging these structural advantages, South Africa can develop a competitive GH2 ecosystem in the region that can help preserve and grow a resilient industrial base.
South Africa’s GH2 production can enable cost-effective decarbonisation of existing downstream industries, such as steel, cement, petrochemicals, and heavy-duty transport by enabling a 10%–15% emissions reduction in these sectors.

Skills Development

Skills are critical enablers for the JET and the growth of the South African economy. National level co-ordination, strategic support and local level alignment will be required for the successful implementing of the JET.
The JET IP skills portfolio will contribute towards building a well co-ordinated, responsive, resourced, and effective skills ecosystem that involves labour, communities, business, and government to ensure that South Africa has an employable, skilled, and capable workforce that will grow the renewable energy sector, the NEV sector, and the GH2 sector and their respective value chains.
Coherent skills anticipation, where labour market actors identify and prepare to meet future skills needs, must aim to avoid potential gaps between skills demand and supply – for both the short- and long-term trajectories of economic growth.

Municipal Capacity

Municipalities have a critical role to play in providing modernised electricity distribution systems that will ensure affordable access to electricity by the communities and businesses they serve.
The increasing role of embedded renewable energy generation gives rise to new challenges and opportunities for municipal services provision, including the need for wheeling arrangements and feed-in tariffs.
There are signiciant backlogs in municipal distribution infrastructure maintenance, and limited municipal capacity to plan, finance, and manage the scale of investment needed.
Given the widely varying complexities that confront local government, the municipal energy transition needs a focussed and collaborative approach across national, provincial, and municipal spheres of government to manage the significant financial, technical, and managerial challenges and risks of the transition.

South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM)

SAREM is designed to accelerate South Africa’s shift to renewable energy, fostering economic growth and reducing carbon emissions.

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency aims to reduce energy consumption through optimised technologies, minimizing waste while maintaining productivity.

Road-to-rail

Focuses on shifting freight transportation from roadways to railways, reducing congestion, lowering carbon emissions, and improving energy efficiency, while promoting sustainable logistics solutions.

International Support and Core Principles of the Just Energy Transition

The Just Energy Transition (JET) is supported by an international pledge of US$ 11.6 billion from the International Partner Group (IPG), contributing to the ZAR 1.5 trillion needed over five years (2023-2027) to implement the transition.

South Africa’s JET emphasises equity, sustainability, inclusivity, and economic diversification, ensuring a fair transition for all, especially workers and communities affected by decarbonisation. The plan leverages decarbonisation as a driver for industrialization, job creation, and sustainable economic growth while expanding energy access and improving livelihoods.