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.

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 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.