In 2021, South Africa’s Just Energy Transitions Partnership, known as JETP, launched at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, promising to provide financing for South Africa’s transition to a lower carbon energy sector. The pioneering plan has been viewed as a model for an approach that could work globally to reduce emissions by decommissioning coal-fired power stations in favor of renewables.
Coal’s status as the dirtiest fossil fuel, accounting for about 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions, means that its use must fall dramatically for the world to stay within the recommended 1.5 degrees of warming. But coal also powers a third of the world’s electricity. While it was a major driver of the industrial revolution in the global north, it is now mainly used in economies that are still industrializing, particularly China.
South Africa’s JETP is a key test in the international development world because of its emphasis on a “just” transition to a low carbon economy — in particular, through protecting livelihoods. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Climate Commission adopted the Just Transition Framework in May 2022, which established the principles of distributive justice, restorative justice, and procedural justice in JETP. These cover issues like reskilling, social welfare, addressing historical damages, and supporting workers, communities, and small businesses through the transition.