Barriers to powering past coal: implications for a just energy transition in South Africa

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dc.contributor.authorMirzania, Pegah
dc.contributor.authorGordon, Joel A.
dc.contributor.authorBalta-Ozkan, Nazmiye
dc.contributor.authorSayan, Ramazan Caner
dc.contributor.authorMarais, Lochner
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-15T10:55:44Z
dc.date.available2023-06-15T10:55:44Z
dc.date.issued2023-05-25
dc.description.abstractThe feasibility of South Africa's just energy transition, as dictated by the speed of phasing out coal and scaling up renewables, will rest on a range of techno-economic, socio-political, and socio-technical factors. Interactions between these dimensions of the transition carry significant implications for energy justice. In response, this paper proposes the Just Transition Feasibility Framework (JTFF) to better evaluate how feasibility constraints may impact South Africa's energy transition ambitions, and its more recent commitments to energy justice. Drawing on qualitative findings from interviews with South African energy experts, the study provides critical insights on the national- and community-scale implications of current energy policies. The analysis highlights socio-political constraints related to the Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme (REI4P) which aggravate energy vulnerabilities and misrecognition of places. In addition to strategically tackling a range of techno-economic and socio-technical constraints which are seen to exacerbate distributive injustice, the South African government should extend the 50 km radius scheme of the REI4P to a wider and more inclusive regional basis. Foremost, policy interventions must seek to realign South Africa's Minerals Energy Complex towards a just transition pathway committed to renewable electrification, community empowerment, and sustainable socio-economic structures.en_UK
dc.description.sponsorshipQR GCRF (UKRI)en_UK
dc.identifier.citationMirzania P, Gordon JA, Balta-Ozkan N, et al., (2023) Barriers to powering past coal: implications for a just energy transition in South Africa, Energy Research and Social Science, Volume 101, July 2023, Article Number 103122en_UK
dc.identifier.issn2214-6296
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103122
dc.identifier.urihttps://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/19780
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherElsevieren_UK
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjectCoal phase-outen_UK
dc.subjectEnergy justiceen_UK
dc.subjectFeasibility constraintsen_UK
dc.subjectGlobal Southen_UK
dc.subjectJust transitionen_UK
dc.subjectSouth Africaen_UK
dc.titleBarriers to powering past coal: implications for a just energy transition in South Africaen_UK
dc.typeArticleen_UK

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