Politicising energy transitions: the political economy of reducing dependence on coal in South Africa’s minerals energy complex

Abstract

Proposals to reduce South Africa’s dependence on coal-generated electricity have repeatedly stalled despite growing internal and international pressure to decarbonise electricity generation. Where there is a growing body of scholarship that identifies barriers to an energy transition in the country, studies that explore how these barriers emerge and are perpetuated are comparatively limited. This paper contributes to this scholarship by looking beyond the energy sector to analyse unresolved debates over how to achieve post-apartheid developmental goals influence access to–and the distribution of–government resources. The paper then shows how in the energy sector different actors use narratives around development to advocate for and oppose measures to restructure the national electricity company and increase procurement of privately generated renewable energy. As well as contributing to South Africa-specific scholarship, this paper provides insights into how resistance to western-funded energy transitions may emerge in other areas in the Global South.