The Just Urban Transitions project aims to collate and make accessible multiple resources for just transition stakeholders, particularly stakeholders that have an interest in the urban or local context and level of planning.
If you would like to add any resources, please submit them here or contact us.
The amount of embedded renewable energy generation, and particularly solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, has been rapidly increasing in South Africa. The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), which tracks installed distributed solar PV capacity, has reported a jump from 4 456 to 5 659 megawatt peak (MWp) between the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. This research aims to understand the role of embedded generation in evolving urban electricity systems (including commercial, industrial residential, Eskom and municipal generation) in South African cities.
Mpumalanga’s subnational government actors are not adequately prepared to navigate the systemic changes that the just transition, including the coal phase-out, increase in renewable energy, and economic diversification will bring. This report aims to take stock of relevant municipal capacities and capabilities, as well as identifying opportunities for intervention to facilitate transition readiness in the province.
In 2022, Stellenbosch University Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES), WWF South Africa and the Just Urban Transitions Project facilitated two workshops that aimed to characterise the challenges and opportunities for local governments in South Africa’s just transition, focused on the electricity system at the local level. This report distils insights from these workshops, additional engagements and a policy and research review to identify, characterise and prioritise technical, financial and systemic challenges, as well as potential goals or decision-making parameters for just urban transitions.
This report aims to clarify the function and content of wheeling agreements in changing local electricity systems. It also outlines relevant compliance requirements and processes to enable said agreements.
This report identifies tools available to coal-impacted local governments to plan for just transitions. It results from a collaboration between two initiatives. Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), with the National Labour and Economic Development Institute (NALEDI), and Peta Wolpe, supported by groundWork, worked together on fostering a just transition in eMalahleni and Steve Tshwete (funded by the United Kingdom Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT)); and The Just Urban Transitions project is funded by Agora Energiewende.
This policy brief is part of the Making Sense of Employment in South Africa’s Just Energy Transition project. TIPS and the WWF South Africa, with the support of GIZ, are implementing an initiative to support policymaking for South Africa’s just transition. It focuses on clarifying employment metrics used in energy planning and research.
The report unpacks the historical trajectory of coal-dependent economies in Mpumalanga and charts possible futures by analysing potential economic opportunities. Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), with the National Labour and Economic Development Institute (NALEDI), and Peta Wolpe, supported by groundWork, worked together on fostering a just transition in eMalahleni and Steve Tshwete (funded by the United Kingdom Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT)); and The Just Urban Transitions project is funded by Agora Energiewende.
This webinar featured a panel of experts to unpack the needs and concerns of coal affected regions in Mpumalanga, focusing on the case Emalahleni Local Municipality.
This webinar featured a distinguished panel of experts to unpack the needs and concerns of coal affected regions in Mpumalanga, focusing on the case Steve Tshwete Municipality
There is a pressing need to manage the impacts of the transition on workers and local economic development, particularly in coal-dependent regions and affected communities. This policy brief speaks to that current policy vacuum and proposes steps to address it.
This webinar focuses on energy poverty in South Africa’s cities and towns. It covers a case study, based on the City of Cape Town, as well as insights into modelling for policy development, delivered by the IISD. A panel discussion expands the discussion to the wider national context and includes inputs from Sustainable Energy African and the Ishack Project.
This policy note makes a case for just urban transitions as essential policy interventions and unavoidable components of national and international low-carbon transformations. It foregrounds local risks and opportunities for South Africa’s cities and towns, highlighting potential steps to advance these transitions.
This Just Urban Transitions webinar was led by WWF, in collaboration with the City of Cape Town and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). This collaboration has led to a study that applies a simulation approach to considering alternative infrastructure investments to provide equitable energy access to low-income households.
This Just Urban Transitions webinar was be led by SEA, building on their extensive work, supporting municipalities to adapt to a transforming electricity system, in concrete ways. SEA is the implementation partner for the SALGA-GIZ-DMRE SSEG Development Support Programme.
This Just Urban Transitions webinar was led by WWF SA and CRSES. It covers a tool, developed by CRSES, that demonstrates the consequences of tariff decisions to accommodate smalls-scale embedded energy generation (SSEG), with emphasis on how it affects investment decisions, and how investment decisions, in turn, affect tariff decisions.
This strategy guide provides a clear programme of action for local government to promote the development of energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) in line with national policy direction and within local governance mandates. This guide was prepared by Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA), a Section 21 (not for profit) company, in collaboration with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). This Guide has been made possible through the generous funding support of the GIZ–South African-German Programme (SAGEN).
To allow easy access to a growing body of work on just transition, Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) has curated relevant content into an open knowledge portal. This provides short summaries as well as key findings and recommendations from a diversity of reports, strategies, videos and podcasts. The knowledge portal focuses on South Africa but will be extended to other areas in the future.
This working paper focuses on how the affordable energy access goals of South Africa’s energy policy have been undermined. The analysis indicates that this is the result of a combination of poor system governance, the failure to allocate clear accountability for delivering affordable access, haphazard institutional alignment and an overarching failure to identify and address critical competing policy tradeoffs, particularly between affordable energy access for households and municipal financial viability.
This paper attempts to formulate a better understanding of the linkages between distribution and socioeconomic development because this is critical to our ability to design and implement a genuinely just energy system.
The Amendment of the Electricity Regulations on New Generation Capacity serves as a regulatory mandate for the procurement or development of new generation capacity by municipalities.
This paper proposes an electricity decision-making tool to assist municipalities in designing the best possible electricity system for cities and towns.
The AG’s 2020 municipal audit report provides insight into the mismanagement of funds, poor governance, and weak accountability measures.
The objective of this policy brief is to present possible ways of including water and sanitation in South Africa’s COVID-19 stimulus package.
The objective of this policy brief is to present a rationale for including renewable energy investment in South Africa’s COVID-19 stimulus package.
This report provides insights into the South Africa’s waste industry developments, opportunities, and market trends.
This report provides insights into the enabling environment and emerging opportunities for the utility scale renewable energy market in South Africa.
This Licensing Exemption and Registration Notice provides a clear exemption for small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) plants (under 1MW), which do not need to apply for a license under the Electricity Regulation Act.
This report presents numerous emerging opportunities for South Africa’s Electric Vehicle market.
This report provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities for South Africa’s energy sector and green economy. The report provides particular insights on SSEG and energy efficiency.
This report provides insight into water efficiency, water reuse, and resource recovery. It applies sustainable development and circular economy principles to the water sector.
This document has been prepared in response to the Paris Agreement and presents South Africa’s first Low Emission Development Strategy (SA-LEDS).
Using four case studies, this paper demonstrates the different impacts of small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) on municipal revenue.
This training video serves to provide a comprehensive understanding of the municipal tariff setting.
This document provides systematic guidance on setting initial SSEG tariffs.
This report provides municipalities with a better understanding of the future trajectory of household investment in rooftop PV.
The Climate Change Bill seeks to build South Africa’s response to climate change, providing a framework that encompasses a range of existing policy and legislation, and to guide ongoing just transition efforts.
The purpose of the 2018 Inter-Ministerial Task Team (IMTT) was to engage with various stakeholders in order to assess and provide interventions for municipal debt to power utility, Eskom, and water utilities.
This report provides a review of potential business models for South African municipalities, considering the impacts of introducing a greater share of renewable energy technologies into the electricity system.
The paper provides an overview of German municipalities’ responses to the challenges that came with energy system restructuring, market reform, and increased SSEG.
The National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) serves to implement the objectives of the Waste Act.
The policy on Free Basic Alternative Energy is intended to provide indigent households with alternative energy where electricity is not available.
The objective of this policy document is to facilitate the implementation of Free Basic Electricity (FBE) services by municipalities.