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ABSTRACT
This article argues that South Africa’s climate change policy and engagement should go beyond advancing its transition to a low carbon economy, and should include adaptation, green industrialisation, and resilience. In this context the article argues that South Africa and other African countries should go beyond the narrow limits of the just energy transition framework and adopt the more holistic concept of climate resilient development. It is proposed that South Africa should support the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the African Union (AU) to strengthen renewable energy infrastructure, green industrial value chains, adaptation and resilience – thus adopting a climate resilient developmental regionalism approach. The EU carbon border adjustment measure is critically discussed. The AfCFTA and the AU are urged to build more coherent approaches between their negotiating positions in the WTO and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
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2 IPCC, Chapter 9, 2022.
3 Paddy Harper, ‘Disclose Flood Spend to Stop Theft,’ Mail and Guardian, April 22 to 28, 2022 https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/mail-guardian/20220422/281543704478418.
4 Harper, ‘Disclose Flood Spend to Stop Theft.’
5 Najma Mohamed and Gaylor Montmasson-Clair, ‘Applying a Normative Framework to Assess the Just Transition to a Net Zero Carbon Society in South Africa,’ in A Just Transition to a Low Carbon Future in South Africa, ed. Nqobile Xaba and Saliem Fakir (Johannesburg: A MISTRA Publication. Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, 2022).
6 Nqobile Xaba and Saliem Fakir, ed., A Just Transition to a Low Carbon Future in South Africa (Johannesburg: A MISTRA Publication. Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, 2022).
7 Samantha Smith, Just Transition. A Report for the OECD (Just Transition Centre, May 2017), https://www.gcca.eu/sites/default/files/2020-12/2017%20Just-Transition-Centre-Report%20for%20the%20OECD.pdf.
8 Smith, Just Transition.
9 Xinxin Wang and Kevin Lo, ‘Just Transition: A Conceptual Review, Review,’ in Energy Research and Social Science (Elsevier, December 2021), 82, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621003832.
10 Bukelwa Nzimande and Happy Khambule, ‘From Climate Change to a Just Energy Transition,’ in A Just Transition to a Low Carbon Future in South Africa, ed. Nqobile Xaba and Saliem Fakir (Johannesburg: A MISTRA Publication. Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, 2022).
11 Mohamed and Montmasson-Clair, ‘Applying a Normative Framework.’
12 Mohamed and Montmasson-Clair ‘Applying a Normative Framework.’
13 Xaba and Fakir, A Just Transition to a Low Carbon Future in South Africa.
14 Fatima Denton et al., ‘Climate-Resilient Pathways: Adaptation, Mitigation, and Sustainable Development’ (Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 2014), https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/WGIIAR5-Chap20_FINAL.pdf.
15 IPCC, Chapter 9, 2022.
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19 IPCC, Chapter 9, 2022.
20 IPCC, Chapter 9, 2022.
21 Denton, ‘Climate-Resilient Pathways.’
22 Denton, ‘Climate-Resilient Pathways.’
23 Government of South Africa, Climate Change Bill. Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (2022), https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202203/b9-2022.pdf.
24 IPCC, Chapter 9, 2022.
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26 IRENA et al., The Renewable Energy Transition in Africa.
27 Carlos Lopes and Dirk Te Velde, Structural Transformation, Economic Development and Industrialization in Post-Covid-19 Africa, 2021, https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/structural-transformation-economic-development-and-industrialization-in-post-covid-19-africa
28 Lopes and Velde, Structural Transformation, Economic Development.
29 Mohamed and Montmasson-Clair, ‘Applying a Normative Framework.’
30 Richard Bridle and Christophe Bellman, How Can Trade Policy Maximize Benefits From Clean Energy Investment? (Canada: International Institute for Sustainable Development IISD, 2021), https://www.iisd.org/publications/trade-clean-energy-investment.
31 Adedeji Adeniran and Chukwuka Onyekwena, ‘Accelerating Green Energy Transition in Africa through Regional Integration’ (South African Institute of International Affairs, Policy Briefing, 216, September 2020) https://www.africaportal.org/publications/accelerating-green-energy-transition-africa-through-regional-integration/.
32 IRENA et al., The Renewable Energy Transition in Africa.
33 IRENA, 2019.
34 IRENA, 2019.
35 IRENA, 2019.
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37 Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance (NMSPG), ‘Webinar X: The AfCFTA and Opportunities for Renewable Energy and Industrial Transformation’ (Policy Brief. The AfCFTA and Transformative Industrialization Webinar Series, 2022), http://www.mandelaschool.uct.ac.za/news/afcfta-and-transformative-industrialisation-webinar-series.
38 Green Cape, ‘The South African Renewable Energy Masterplan. Emerging Actions Discussion Document,’ (Green Cape, Cape Town, November 2021), https://www.greencape.co.za/assets/SAREM-Emerging-Actions-Discussion-Doc_20211103_ntt-1.pdf
39 Mohamed and Montmasson-Clair, ‘Applying a Normative Framework.’
40 Mohamed and Montmasson-Clair, ‘Applying a Normative Framework.’
41 Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance (NMSPG), ‘Webinar X: The AfCFTA and Opportunities for Renewable Energy and Industrial Transformation’ (Policy Brief. The AfCFTA and Transformative Industrialization Webinar Series, 2022), http://www.mandelaschool.uct.ac.za/news/afcfta-and-transformative-industrialisation-webinar-series
42 Maria Nkhonjera, ‘Chapter 6: Green Industrial Development Under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Positioning South Africa’s Renewable Energy Manufacturing,’ in A Just Transition to a Low Carbon Future in South Africa, ed. Nqobile Xaba and Saliem Fakir (Johannesburg: A MISTRA Publication. Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, 2022).
43 Nkhonjera, ‘Chapter 6.’
44 Lopes and Velde, Structural Transformation, Economic Development.
45 Faizel Ismail, The AfCFTA and Developmental Regionalism. A Handbook (Pretoria: TIPS, April 2021), https://www.tips.org.za/research-archive/books/item/4121-the-african-continental-free-trade-area-afcfta-and-developmental-regionalism-a-handbook.
46 Federico Jensen and Lindsay Whitfield, ‘Leveraging Participation in Apparel Global Supply Chains Through Green Industrialisation Strategies: Implications for Low-Income Countries,’ Ecological Economics 194 (2022): 107331, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800921003906?via%3Dihub.
47 Ismail, The AfCFTA and Developmental Regionalism.
48 Carolyne Deere Birkbeck, et al., ‘Governance to Support a Global Green Deal: 11 Ways to Align Global Economic Institutions with Climate Action in the Next 12–36 Months,’ Future of Climate Cooperation, https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/research/research-projects/future-climatecooperation.
49 Christophe Bellmann, ‘Trade and Climate Change in the WTO’ (Forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS), Graduate Institute of Development Studies, Geneva, April 2022), https://tessforum.org/media/2022/04/TESS-Policy-Brief-Trade-and-Climate-Change-in-the-World-Trade-Organization-5.pdf.
50 Bellmann, ‘Trade and Climate Change in the WTO.’
51 European Commission, ‘A European Green Deal [Text]. European Commission’ (2019). https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en (accessed June 16, 2022).
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1576150542719&uri=COM%3A2019%3A640%3AFIN. European Commission, ‘Impact Assessment Report—Accompanying the Document—Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism’ (2020), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1576150542719&uri=COM%3A2019%3A640%3AFIN. European Commission, ‘European Green Deal: Commission Proposes Transformation of EU Economy and Society to Meet Climate Ambitions,’ Press Release (July 14, 2021), https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_3541 (accessed June 16, 2022). European Commission, ‘EU Green Deal (carbon border adjustment mechanism)’, https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12228-EU-Green-Deal-carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-_en (accessed June 16, 2022).
52 Lerato Monaisa, ‘European Green Deal: The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and Implications for South African and European Trade’ (Policy Brief 6/2021 Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies, 2021), https://www.tips.org.za/policy-briefs/item/4293-european-green-deal-the-carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-and-implications-for-south-african-and-european-union-trade.
53 Monaisa, ‘European Green Deal.’
54 Monaisa, ‘European Green Deal.’
55 Monaisa, ‘European Green Deal.’
56 European Parliament legislative resolution of 18 April 2023 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism (COM(2021)0564 – C9-0328/2021–2021/0214(COD)), April 18, 2023, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0100_EN.html.
57 EC, ‘European Green Deal.’
58 IEEP (Institute for European Environmental Policy), ‘What Can Least Developed Countries and Other Climate Vulnerable Countries Expect from the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism’ (CBAM)? (June 25, 2021), https://ieep.eu/publications/what-can-climate-vulnerable-countries-expect-from-the-cbam; Jannnik Leuker, ‘Border Carbon Adjustment and Inequality Distributional Equity Concerns About the EU CBAM’s Impacts in South Africa. Dissertation’ (Master of Science in Environmental Management and Policy, University of Lund, Sweden, May 2022).
59 IEEP, ‘What Can Least Developed Countries.’
60 Aaron Cosbey et al., ‘Developing Guidance for Implementing Border Carbon Adjustments: Lessons, Cautions, and Research Needs from the Literature,’ Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 13, no. 1 (Winter 2019): 3–22. doi: 10.1093/reep/rey020, https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1093/reep/rey020
61 Cosbey et al., ‘Developing Guidance for Implementing Border Carbon Adjustments.’
62 Leuker, ‘Border Carbon Adjustment.’
63 Cosbey et al., ‘Developing Guidance for Implementing Border Carbon Adjustments.’
64 Leuker, ‘Border Carbon Adjustment.’
65 Laima Eicke et al., ‘Pulling Up the Carbon Ladder? Decarbonization, Dependence, and Third-Country Risks from the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism,’ Energy Research and Social Science 80 (October 2021): 102240, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629621003339.
66 Noah Diffenbaugh and Marshall Burke ‘Global Warming has Increased Global Economic Inequality,’ Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, no. 20 (2019): 9808–13, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1816020116.
67 Richard Bridle and Christophe Bellman, ‘How Can Trade Policy Maximize Benefits from Clean Energy Investment?’ (International Institute for Sustainable Development IISD, Canada, 2021), https://www.iisd.org/publications/trade-clean-energy-investment.
68 Faizel Ismail, WTO Reform and the Crisis of Multilateralism. A Developing Country Perspective (South Centre, Geneva and TIPS, Pretoria, 2020), https://www.southcentre.int/book-by-the-south-centre-2020-3/.
69 Faizel Ismail, WTO Reform and the Crisis of Multilateralism. A Developing Country Perspective (South Centre, Geneva and TIPS, Pretoria, 2020), https://www.southcentre.int/book-by-the-south-centre-2020-3/.
70 Ismail, WTO Reform and the Crisis of Multilateralism.
71 WTO doc, ‘Strengthening the WTO to Promote Development and Inclusivity’ (Communication from The African Group, Cuba and India. Revision. General Council, 11 February 2022) WT/GC/W/778/Rev.4, https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/WT/GC/W778R4.pdf&Open=True.
72 WTO doc, ‘Strengthening the WTO to Promote Development and Inclusivity.’
73 WTO doc, ‘Strengthening the WTO to Promote Development and Inclusivity.’
74 Cyril Ramaphosa, ‘Committee of African Heads of State and Government. Summit of African Leaders on Climate Change,’ February 6, 2022, https://www.gov.za/speeches/president-cyril-ramaphosa-cahoscc-committee-african-heads-state-and-government-climate.
75 Ramaphosa, Heads of State, 2022.
76 Businesslive, ‘Developing Nations Disappointed with UN Climate Talks,’ June 17, 2022, https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/2022-06-17-developing-nations-disappointed-with-un-climate-talks/.
77 Businesslive, 17 June 2022.
78 Natalya Alayza et al., COP 27 Key Takeaways and What’s Next (World Resources Institute, December 8, 2022), https://www.wri.org/insights/cop27-key-outcomes-un-climate-talks-sharm-el-sheikh.
79 Fazal Issa, ‘COP 27 Outcome: Reflections on the Progress Made, Opportunities Missed,’ African Renewal, December 15, 2022, https://www.un.org/africarenewal/news/cop27-outcome-reflections-progress-made-opportunities-missed#:~:text=A%20key%20outcome%20was%20the,and%20food%20systems%20by%202030.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Faizel Ismail
Faizel Ismail is the Director of the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance. He has served as the Ambassador of South Africa to the World Trade Organization (2010–2014). He teaches international trade and global governance at the University of Cape Town Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance and in the Graduate School of Business. He has a PhD in Politics from the University of Manchester, an MPhil in Development Studies from Sussex (IDS), and BA and LLB degrees from UKZN (Pietermaritzburg). He is the author of three books on the WTO and a recent book on the African Continental Free Trade Area. He has published over 50 journal articles, book chapters and working papers on trade and economic development.