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A closer look at just transition policies
South Africa

Just Transition Framework for South Africa

Region
Africa
Country
South Africa
Originator/Owner
Government Ministries And Agencies National Level
Coordinating/Lead actor
The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC)
Policy type
Strategies Plans Frameworks Roadmaps Blueprints
Policy areas
Enterprise policies, Industrial and sectoral policies, Macroeconomic and growth policies, Rights, Skills development, Social dialogue and tripartism, Social protection
Environmental focus
Climate change
Target groups
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), Women, Workers, Youth
Sectoral focus
Agriculture, Infrastructure, construction and related sectors, Energy, Extractives, Forestry and Land use, Maritime and transport, Public services, utilities and health, Tourism
Crosscutting themes
Circular economy, Critical Energy Transition Minerals, Employment/job creation, Finance (public/private), Gender equality, Green economy, Heat stress, Informal economy
Date of Adoption
27 May 2022
Timeframe
2020-2050
2020
Presidential Climate Commission is created
2021 - 2025
Short term impacts addressed in the Framework
2025 - 2030
Medium term impacts
2030 - 2050
Long term impacts
Just Transition Framework for South Africa
English, Document

The Just Transition Framework is a planning tool designed to guide South Africa's transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy and society.

It sets out the actions that the government, together with its social partners, will take to ensure that the transition is fair, equitable, and participatory. The framework’s central goal is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 through a process guided by the principles of distributional, procedural, and restorative justice: meaning that the costs and benefits of the transition are shared fairly, that decision-making is inclusive, and that historical and environmental injustices are addressed.

The Framework draws on and makes explicit reference to the ILO's 2015 guidelines for a just transition.

Policy priorities emphasize reskilling, social protection, local economic diversification, green job creation, and regional development, coordinated through the PCC in partnership with government, trade unions, business, and civil society.

Just transition has been embedded in South Africa's policy discourse for over 15 years, initially championed by trade unions and later incorporated into successive government documents, including both the 2015 and 2021 NDCs. The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), a multistakeholder body representing government and social partners, was established in 2020 to provide high-level institutional coordination of the transition to a low-emissions, climate-resilient economy. The Just Transition Framework is the foundational step toward this objective.

Key insights
Policy, governance, and finance measures are set out to tackle risks and opportunities across value chains – coal, automatives, agriculture, tourism – and the trade environment

The Framework addresses negative impacts on vulnerable groups, such as farmers, coal workers, and local communities, while targeting growth opportunities like electric vehicles, green finance, and new technologies.

Three main categories of policy action are put forward:

  1. Human resource and skills development to build a future-ready workforce — reskilling workers into green sectors and strengthening education systems to improve broader adaptive capacity.

  2. Industrial development, economic diversification, and innovation, including supporting MSMEs and informal enterprises while co-creating sectoral transitions with relevant stakeholders.

  3. Social protection for displaced workers and climate-vulnerable communities through reformed social security, targeted grants, and investment in ecological resilience.

A key feature of the Framework is its emphasis on building capacity, coordination, and participation among public institutions and social partners. For instance, accelerating renewable energy expansion requires national government planning instruments to be updated; mining, farming, and tourism municipalities should be identified and strengthened; worker and community organizations need adequate resources and platforms to engage meaningfully with government and business.

To meet the broader financing challenge, the Framework promotes a diversified, multi-source approach, combining international climate finance with domestic strategies, including tax and subsidy reform, green and thematic bonds, blended finance, and public-private partnerships. A common taxonomy aligned with the National Treasury's Green Finance Taxonomy is proposed to ensure coherence across instruments.

Notably, the Framework also highlights the need to develop financing mechanisms for emerging "infant industries" critical to the transition. It acknowledges the historical concentration of climate finance in renewable energy, with limited flows to other sectors such as agriculture and adaptation.

Expected Outcomes
The first building block: providing a shared vision for the just transition at national level and principles to guide it
There is not a one-size fits all approach. People not only need to be in the conversation; they need to be driving it
Crispian Olver - Deputy Chairperson of the Presidential Climate Commission
Implementation
Institutional coordination of the just transition agenda, iterative and overlapping planning, and improvement over time

The Framework includes an action plan to operationalize the measures it calls for, outlining short-term steps and responsible state actors – in particular, embedding just transition within the central planning system of government.

Specific instruments named in the document include the National Development Plan, the Medium-Term Strategic Framework, Annual Performance Plans, and annual budgeting processes. The PCC has continued its work since the Just Transition Framework’s publication to support implementation, including by engaging with sectoral plans: for example, reviewing the Department of Mineral and Energy Resources’ updated Integrated Resource Plan in March 2024.

The Framework also underpins the just transition approach in the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan and Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan, and has informed the Climate Change Act, 2024.

The Framework’s action plan requires the national government to engage and work with local and provincial governments but notes that these require financial and technical support to build capacity to perform their roles: identifying local impacts, regulating planning and land management, facilitating the local community’s participation, and providing essential infrastructure services.

The PCC has developed a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) system, supported by the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency, to track progress, draw lessons from key projects, and enable course correction in policymaking. Going forward, priorities include embedding just transition indicators into strategic planning, strengthening interdepartmental coordination, and improving national data systems.

The product of a substantive consultative process spanning 2017 to 2025
2017 - 2018
National Planning Commission social dialogue process on just transition | Actors: Various social partners.
2018
National Economic and Development and Labour Council agrees to create coordination commission for the just transition | Actors: Government, labour unions, industry, civil society and community representatives | Conference – resulting in the creation of the PCC two years later.
2021 - 2022
Consultations on the Framework | Actors: Workers, businesses, and other social partners | Conversations focused on allowing impacted groups to discuss their positions on the just transition journey envisioned for the country.
Mar 2022 - Apr 2022
Consultations in communities affected by economic impacts of climate change | Actors: Local community members, representatives (e.g., forums, associations, councillors, youth and women groups and leaders, etc.), NGOs and other community-based organisations, relevant district, regional or national government representatives | Organization of a series of in-person community consultations to tailor the framework to local needs.
27 May 2022
Adoption of the Framework | Organization of a multi-stakeholder conference in Johannesburg to underscore the urgency of a just and equitable transition with key partners – ending with endorsement of the Just Transition Framework.
2023 - 2025
Multistakeholder dialogues | The PCC continues engaging on just transition implementation, convening stakeholders to discuss issues such as affordability challenges of electricity market reform and the role of subsidies.
Other stakeholders
Applying the Framework means putting the vulnerable members of society at the center, ensuring they can fully benefit from opportunities

The Framework's definition of just transition “puts people at the centre of decision making, especially those most impacted, the poor, women, people with disabilities, and the youth”.

Many recommendations are nuanced to address the needs of people experiencing greater vulnerability. For example: corporate social investment should pursue “the principles of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment including women’s empowerment.”

It also highlights spatial inequality as a major barrier to inclusive development and climate resilience, calling for a strong spatial lens in just transition planning. Without deliberate action, these geographic shifts risk deepening the marginalization of already vulnerable people and places.

A just transition must not only be about fair outcomes, but also about fair processes
Alexio Musindo - ILO director Pretoria