Just an energy transition? A gendered analysis of energy transition in Northern Cape, South Africa

abstract

The world faces a climate crisis due to the extraction and burning of fossil fuels which has supported industrialisation and capitalist expansion. One of the solutions to the climate crisis is to reduce carbon emissions by transitioning from a fossil fuel-based energy system to one based on renewable sources, such as solar or wind energy. The just energy transition promises to address unemployment and poverty while reducing the carbon intensive nature of the energy system. However, this energy transition is complex and holds uncertainty and risk for many people, particularly communities and workers who depend on the coal value chain. This article adopts a feminist political economy lens to explore the relationship between the development of renewable energy and gendered labour. This approach highlights the importance of the economy, the household and the state in the process of social reproduction. By analysing the impact of the development of solar power plants on the communities and workers in three towns in the Northern Cape, South Africa, and focusing on the three components of social reproduction, I find that the energy transition in its current form will not deliver justice for the poor and working classes or promote gender equality.

keywords:

• just transition
• energy
• feminist economics
• gender
• climate change

Acknowledgement

The author would like to acknowledge Nawi Afrifem Macroeconomics Collective as a funder through the Care Economy Paper Series and Professor Lyn Ossome for her guidance and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 REIPPPP was launched in 2011 as a public-private partnership that allowed private companies to bid for development of renewable energy power plants and entry into power purchase agreements with Eskom, the state energy utility. Bids are scored based on price, as well as social and economic development of local communities.

2 MACUA is a network of community organisations who have united to oppose exploitation by the mining industry and demand that they are involved in decisions which affect them.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Julia Taylor

JULIA TAYLOR is a Researcher on Climate Change and Inequality at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at Wits University. Previously, she was Researcher and Climate Policy Lead at the Institute for Economic Justice where she worked with labour unions on a vision for a Just Transition. Julia has previously worked at Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator on impact and research, sustainability consulting, and eco-education. She holds a BCom from the University of Cape Town, a post-graduate degree in Sustainable Development from Stellenbosch University, and an MSc in Environment and Development from Edinburgh University. Julia recently completed a MCom in Applied Development Economics at Wits University. Email: [email protected]