Emalahleni’s just transition: from closure to collaboration?

Abstract

The transition from fossil fuels to renewables is imminent. Emalahleni Local Municipality (formerly Witbank), in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, is home to most of South Africa's coal reserves and coal-fired power stations. It employs approximately 35,000 people in this sector, and almost 60% of its local economy depends on mining and coal generation. For the Paris Agreement to be implemented in Emalahleni, all but one of its coal-fired power stations would have to close. We argue that any transition focusing only on the drive to replace fossil fuels with renewables and ignoring people will fail. This chapter investigates the potential social consequences of closing these coal mines and coal-fired power stations. We argue that a post-coal future must consider the existing dependencies and the inevitable disruptions linked to the transition. A just transition from coal to renewables will be a complex and difficult endeavour.