Description
This book provides a succinct overview of the evolution of policies addressing energy and climate justice in South Africa. Drawing on a range of analytical perspectives, including socio-technical studies, just transitions, and critical political economy, it explains why South Africa’s energy transition from a coal-dependent, centralised power generation and distribution system has been so slow, and reveals the types of socio-political inequalities that persist across regimes and energy sources. Topics explored include critical approaches to the South African state and its state-owned energy provider, Eskom; the political ecologies of coal and water; the politics of non-renewable energy alternatives; as well as the trajectory and fate of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), the country’s major renewable energy policy. The book concludes with reflections on alternative, neglected energy and development paths, suggesting how the political economy of South Africa’s energy system could be further transformed for the better. 1. Introduction 2. Competing paradigms for understanding energy transitions The “natural” and “objective” constraints of coal? Socio-technical transitions: RE transitions as critical conjuncture Just transitions (JT), ecological, and critical political economy perspectives Conclusion 3. Eskom and the Dual Character of the South African State From MEC origins to apartheid crises Power Outrages, 2008 and after: From crisis of delivery to crisis of governance Conclusion 4. Non-RE alternative energies: nuclear, geothermal, fracking and offshore gas Geothermal energy, fracking, and offshore gas Nuclear energy: isihloko asivaliwe? Conclusion 5. REIPPPP: Renewables’ Rise, or REIPPPP RIP? Conclusion 6. Conclusion: Just an Energy Transition – or a Just Transition? Just transitions: combining energy justice with community reconstruction Guaranteed full employment: achieving economic recovery with climate jobs A People’s REFIT: a decentralised pathway to energy justice? Conclusions References
