Just transition in South Africa: A community’s perspective
By Ndivile Mokoena
Communities in South Africa suffer the impacts of climate change differently based on their geographical areas, rural, urban, mining, industrial and peri urban areas. As much as in those areas there are differentiated impacts of climate change between different genders. A just transition should be able to address all these areas, situations, and circumstances, all encompassed in the social, economic, development, sustainability, security, and inequalities issues prevailing in our country. Communities have raised concerns of trade-offs perceived between Development (which is terribly slow and reversed by COVID 19) and Climate Change responses like the Just Transition.
[1]In general communities understands the negative development impacts of climate change and just transition, even though there is a lack of clear understanding of the dynamics and details of a just transition to a low carbon and climate resilient society. Communities are experiencing the pain of climate change impacts combined with poor basic service delivery and governance and their anger and frustrations over low or no delivery against government promises. Apart from the obvious interventions around job creation, security and skills development that are directly related- to the just transition, the general feeling amongst communities is that the transition cannot be ‘just’ if people do not experience equitable and adequate basic service delivery (water & sanitation, access to clean, safe & affordable energy, food sovereignty, waste management, access to arable land, recognising circular economy and addressing gender inequalities amongst others)
A typical example of the above scenario is an issue raised by women in a community in Orange Farm, the area was previously used as farmland, very arable and fertile now used as a residential area, the infrastructure is not fully developed, the roads are not tarred. There is lots of dust in the area due to the topsoil, there are industries next to the residential area, air pollution is one of main climate change impacts in addition to drought. Community members always suffer from incessant coughing, sore throat, red eyes, skin rash and there are no health facilities in the area and no available public transport. These are basic service delivery issues which exacerbate the impacts of climate change and just transition according to that community cannot be just without addressing those issues, especially when women carry all the burden of the social, economic, and developmental issues prevailing in the area.
Communities expressed significant health concerns relating to the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels. All fossil fuels-based communities cited serious health impacts because of local mining. energy and oil refining operations, particularly in respect to respiratory issues. They also cited the lack of access to adequate and affordable healthcare; they are calling for reparations and access to affordable and effective health care services. They are calling for closure of coalmines- and oil refineries and the installation of clean technologies as a means of mitigating negative health impacts.
Health:
Health is at the core of the wellbeing of a society. Communities’ health has been injured by the society’s reliance on fossil fuels, the health system is already in crises and needs radical proactive change to be able to cope with current and anticipated damages induced by slow onset and rapid climate change events. The climate crises are an acute health emergency with far-reaching effects on both human health and the environments that sustain that health. Climate crises and the health of citizens are interlinked and have many of the same solutions. The burning of fossil fuels in the production of energy, and the air pollution that it produces, is the leading cause of climate change and one of the world’s greatest health risks. Providing clean energy to everyone who needs it will dramatically improve the climate, as well as human health and economy.
Food Security and Food Sovereignty:
Food is form of energy, it is basic to human life and is a human right. Food availability is the result of systems of land ownership, access to water, seeds, skills, knowledge, market opportunities and opportunities for autonomous food production, it is crucial for wellbeing in a society. The current dominant food system is profit driven and relies heavily on the need for fossil fuels, this creates opportunities for a new food system.
People want an end to monoculture industrial food processes which are carbon intensive and toxic, they also need substantial amounts of artificial fertilizers and pesticides. Instead, people need to work with nature to produce organic food that is local and does not need to travel long distances. They want creation of sustainable organic agricultural livelihoods which produce a surplus that can be sold locally. Water and land reform to support emerging farmers, this must prioritize land ownership for women. Localization at every level of food production to cope with climate change and increased droughts, reduction of water waste by large scale irrigation and large-scale agro industries. Protection of water sources against industrial farming impact, a move away from water-intensive extractive and industrial activities. Strict monitoring of water users such as fracking, coal mining and industrialised farming. A focused food policy, aimed at ensuring food sovereignty for all, reorganisation of urban areas to encourage urban food production. Education that enables everybody to grow food even where there is no access to land and limited water, food growing in schools, so everyone has access to food.
Agriculture is an important land use that many South Africans rely on for their livelihoods and food security. It is also a land use that competes with mining according to community observations and experience, it is constantly under threat by coal and other mining activities largely because of degraded land that in the main, is not rehabilitated by the mining industry, water pollution and serious water contamination like Acid Mine Drainage. They also highlighted concerns that jobs losses during phase out or phase down of coal activities and other industries will amass the agriculture sector with the unemployed, therefore, stressed the quick establishment of renewable energy sector and expansion of the tourism sector.
Gender-responsive interventions:
Women are often at the forefront of adapting to climate change and economic shifts. Just transition needs to have gender-focused interventions and a clear understanding of the gender issues on the ground in communities. Women need to be equally empowered as men for jobs and pay in this transition, they also need to be capacitated to form part of the planning process, this is seen as a critical means of combatting gender-based violence.
Gender Justice:
The path to a just transition must be rooted in the principles of gender justice. This means taking into consideration the legacy of gender discrimination and its effects in society, as well as the realities of the care burdens of women in society and ongoing, pervasive nature of gender-based violence. A just transition will be one that has women leaders at the forefront of decision-making, as well as implementation.
Gender justice is a cross-cutting issue and must be incorporated into all aspects of a just transition ensuring that all decisions must be made with a gendered lens, taking into consideration gender relations and complexities on a national and local level. All processes and decisions must take into consideration that women, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ perspectives are preconditions for being fully representative. This cannot be done without women, non-binary and LGBTQIA+.
Land ownership by women and non-binary people must be prioritised, as well as job creation.
Financial support for local actors:
There are several local actors already collaborating with communities on climate change and just transition across the country. Communities are requesting the government to consider leveraging financial support- for these actors and community organizations as partners.
Youth and Education:
The youth will inherit a planet heavily impacted by climate change. This will include not only disasters in the natural realm, but also profoundly serious social challenges like economic breakdown, government breakdown impacting on safety, health, service provision and disaster management. The just transition should promise and deliver a better future for our young people and prepare them for coming difficulties. There are already prominent youth activists fighting for a liveable future. Their voices should be taken seriously. All decisions should be made from a perspective of intergenerational justice, the interests of those still to be born should be considered.
Education should prepare youth for living in a climate impacted world and be able to look forward to opportunities for work, livelihoods, and wellbeing.
Communities expressed a desire for relevant and meaningful education & training in various skills, reskilling and upskilling for their community needs to be integrated into the climate change discourse and skills appropriate to alternative development pathways in the transition, as well as access to ways to produce goods or services as the transition is taking place. They recommended that climate change be included in the school’s education curricula.
Language and accessibility:
Just transition dialogue needs to consider the language and forms of communication to the communities, they access information and knowledge because of languages barriers. Policy engagements with local communities needs to be simplified as it is too technical and scientific, and they follow or contribute properly.
A New Just Energy System:
Communities are calling for a transformed, sustainable and gender-just energy system. As energy is a driving force in the just transition to move away from fossil fuels and rely on fast developing renewable energy technologies, communities are equally concerned with public ownership of energy resources, decentralised energy systems and people’s access to energy, particularly women whose lives are centred around energy.
Transport and Communications:
People want to see communication and transport sectors that support a wellbeing economy.
Mobility underlies many aspects of wellbeing and resilience and is a key energy-using sector which is currently reliant on fossil fuels. Transport is needed to get to work, school, access to medical care and keep ties with friends and family and to explore the world around us. Transport choices are currently severely limited and expensive for most South Africans. Communities want accessible, reliable, safe, affordable, sustainable and environmentally friendly transport. That the railway system becomes a safe and reliable mode of transport, that will reduce the number of cars on that he road. They need interlinked transport that is cheap, reliable, and clean (especially for the poor and the working class) All road transport, including buses, taxis, scooters, and motorbikes in the form of battery electric vehicles based on electricity generated through renewables. Communities need a transport system owned by the people, a taxi system that co-operates with the just transition and taxis that treat travellers with dignity and respect. The new transport system must accommodate those with disabilities and be gender sensitive.
Local Service Delivery and Open Democracy:
Local government is the level of government closest to the people and their immediate concerns. It has a crucial role to play in building and supporting the resilience of infrastructure as well as people it serves, it is the first line of defence in terms of disaster management. Proper local services should build people’s resilience, reconstruct and climate-proof settlements, fix broken roads, storm water drains, water, use renewables such as solar water heaters and be based on accountability and participation.
Open Democracy approach should push for local governments that collaborate with people, not taking decisions behind closed doors but communicating with community members. It should have capacity building, training, and upskilling for municipal staff and have quick responses to community enquiries. Local government should be clear on how to deliver Constitutional Rights (such as health, sanitation etc.) and basic services. There should be no political interference in the business of local government, for it to function properly, politicians should only be responsible for oversight. There should also be functional accountability mechanisms through which communities can hold municipalities accountable, including for financial mismanagement at local level. Creation of local jobs to support residents should include jobs in renewable energy and be well prepared for climate change impacts. People should not be living in floodplains; communities are not water resilient. The Integrated Development Plan process should be transparent, and citizens should be able to access or attend council meetings. There should be adherence to basic principles of democracy, where decisions are made in terms of bottom-up approach and a just transition can be realised.
Every municipality should have a climate change mitigation and adaptation resilience strategy by latest 2028 and planning decisions to be put in place now.
Economic Justice:
The core dynamic behind climate change and other planetary destruction and environmental injustices, is the profit-driven economy in its neoliberal/austerity form. “The economy” which is merely a set of institutions, has subordinated both society and nature to its narrow and elitist needs. A new economic system is necessary, and the just transition provides a space in which to deal with this. A wellbeing economy is based on the idea that economic decision making should start by asking what the needs of people are, and how to fulfil them, rather than to have an economy that serves profits. In such an economy, it will be possible to do socially necessary work and reward it, rather than leave it to the owners of capital to decide what work should and should not be done.
People from communities feel that our economy works needs to change, they want a universal basic income grant to be implemented as a step in the direction of a caring economy. Such grant should not exclude caregivers from getting COVID relief and other grants. The economy needs to prepare well to deal with the expected job losses in the coal economy. There should be a social protection package that is adequate to people’s actual needs, including municipal services. Illicit financial flows which take money out of the country should be stopped and licit financial flows which take money out of the country should be regulated more strictly. A more progressive tax structure, including a wealth tax and a carbon tax must be introduced.
Gender dimensions of government budgeting, spending and grants should be made transparent.
People want a better, affordable, and accessible internet connectivity infrastructure. Accessible and affordable communication enables people to learn, relax and participate in public life and public debate.
Communities wish to be part of the just transition decision making and implementation process and be empowered to participate in and support the transition effectively. They demand a just transition process tailored to their needs, including an effective enabling environment, skills, and skills development, job and enterprise development opportunities, incentives appropriate to inclusive community participation.
Youth and women feel excluded from planning, decision making and implementation in most of developments on issues that affect them directly especially in climate change and just transition engagements.
Women’s voices are also loud and clear demanding an end to gender biases, shift to a gender just energy transition and equal rights in agriculture for food sovereignty. The country’s just transition framework has an element of “Distributive Justice” parallel to Procedural and Restorative Justices. Local women want to see the distributive justice including equal distribution of care work and land tenure and rights.
The national debate about the just transition should be open and accessible to all, and the playing field should be levelled for disadvantaged participants. Addressing climate injustice requires addressing SA’s deeply entrenched inequalities.
Reference list / Information sources:
1. GenderCC SA www.gendercc.org.za +27 10 021 0126
Open Agenda Just Transition Booklet developed the three following partner organizations:
2. Centre for Environmental Rights www.cer.org.za +27 21 447 1647
3. Earthlife Africa JHB www.earthlife.org.za +27 11 339 3662
4. Groundwork www.groundwork.org.za +27 74 405 1257
5. Various communities around Gauteng Province.
[1] Presidential Climate Commission — Publications (climatecommission.org.za)
