Government delayed energy transition because of coal mining
- Thokozani Chilenga-Butao
South Africa’s move to green energy was slowed down by government to protect coal mining
South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy was split in two after the 2024 general elections: Electricity and Energy and Mineral and Petroleum Resources. Part of the reason was to prevent conflicts of interest. Before the 2024 elections, the transition to renewable energy was at odds with the development of the minerals sector, including fossil fuels like coal.
Historically, fossil fuels have played a major role in the South African economy, with coal-fired power stations supplying 85% of South Africa’s electricity. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy was part of the minerals-energy complex – a relationship between mining, energy, the department and private capital set up in the 1800s. It was integral to the political economy of South Africa for at least a century. But it also had a negative side; wealth accumulation in the sector relied on cheap labour performed by Black mine workers.
From 1998, the mandate of the department was to promote responsible mining in line with good sustainable development and environmental management. This meant that as overseer and regulator of the mining industry, the department was critical to the decarbonisation the South African economy.
By 2021, South Africa committed to raising US$8.5 billion (R161.5 billion) to transition the country to a low-carbon economy. The Presidential Climate Commission was established in 2022 to facilitate the energy transition and the decarbonisation of the economy and to ensure that South Africa met its goal of reaching net zero by 2050.
The Public Affairs Research Institute spent a few years analysing the department’s role in the energy transition. There’s been little to no research about how this critical department actively participates in South Africa’s just energy transition.
My colleague Waseem Holland and I reviewed the department’s legislation and policies. We studied the department’s structure and interviewed its officials. We also interviewed environment and governance non-governmental organisations, energy experts, a trade union, ministry officials and the Minerals Council (a mine employer association).
We heard from all of these organisations that the department was in charge of charting a policy framework for the energy transition. However, it resisted the transition to renewable energy instead, slowing it down.
The new Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources must open communication and cooperation with all institutions involved in the energy transition. This way, everyone will know what to expect from it.
Politics and governance of the just energy transition
Our research found that the department viewed the just energy transition as a neo-colonial project that slowed down mining and prevented development. We also found a deep attachment to coal within the department. Even officials with climate change expertise questioned taking out loans to build renewable energy projects and the introduction of electric vehicles to South Africa.
Our research also found an institutional incoherence between how the department was internally organised and how it interacted with stakeholders. For example, its chief directorates and directorates’ aims aligned with energy transition activities. And yet, the people we interviewed reported that these sections of the department were not responsive to them.
The department also did not discuss whether it was involved in any energy transition activities, such as limiting mining licences or aligning its policies with other institutions involved in the transition.
The department was involved in a conflict of interest. The move towards renewable energy was at odds with the department’s support for the minerals sector, including coal. The department was committed to continuing fossil fuel mining. For example, it took on the job of issuing environmental authorisations to companies applying for mines and waste management licences. This job was previously done by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. Having Mineral Resources and Energy promoting fossil fuel mining and approving mining companies plans to protect the environment turned it into the “fox guarding the henhouse”.
The department was also obliged by laws and policies to ensure that mining companies protected the environment. But our research found that the department was unwilling to share environmental management plans with civil society and environmental organisations. This prevented communities affected by mining from holding mining companies accountable for pollution and environmental damage.
Delayed transition to renewable energy
Our research found examples of delays by the department that have slowed down the energy transition. For example, the department delayed releasing the Mine Closure Strategy until 2021. This draft strategy has still not been finalised, even though a blueprint for closing down coal mines is needed urgently. The delay led to the unnecessary spread of pollution as mines closed without meeting clean-up standards. Illegal mining also took root on mining sites that were abandoned.
Another example was the failure by the department to set out its plans for the energy transition through the Integrated Resource Plan. This national energy plan is supposed to set out policies and scenarios for generating safe and environmentally sound energy. It should be updated every two years. However, the updates do not happen on time and the plan does not align with the goals of the just energy transition.
What should happen next
Between 2009 and 2019 when the department split and then reformed, there was an exodus of energy experts. This expertise needs to be re-established under the new Department of Electricity and Energy.
As the new Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources begins its work, it must find ways to respond to and interact with its stakeholders for the purposes of reducing South Africa’s carbon emissions. These emissions are far above those of other African countries.
Policymakers across the just energy transition sector should work to understand the fear of any “transition” in a post-colonial, post-apartheid state. The legacy of colonialism means there is little trust in the global north. It is seen as dictating the direction of South Africa’s development by encouraging a low-carbon economy.
South Africa also has to build its economy and find its way through energy and climate crises without the benefit of full socio-economic development. Our research suggests that claims of neo-colonialism by the global south are legitimate, even in the face of the climate and energy crises.
All experts, organisations and institutions involved in the green transition must be open to understanding these concerns. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources must allow a frank discussion on its views. It must engage actively in solutions to the climate crisis. If this does not happen, the just energy transition in South Africa will continue to be elusive.
Thokozani Chilenga-Butao, Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.