UNLOCKING GREEN JOBS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Unlocking Green Jobs: A Catalytic Intervention was a two-year initiative and collaboration between the World Wide Fund for Nature, South Africa (WWF-SA) and Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS). Published reports include a synthesis report, Unlocking green jobs in South Africa: A catalytic intervention, which summarises the findings and three three case studies.

The reports were produced with the financial assistance of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust and Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

Main report

Unlocking green jobs in South Africa: A catalytic intervention - synthesis report

Case studies

Essential Amathole: A case study of unlocking green jobs in the bioprospecting sector

Protecting and unlocking jobs through water stewardship: A case study Linked to the Umbogintwini Industrial Complex, Ethekwini

Unlocking and retaining jobs in the alien vegetation added value chain through industrial symbiosis: Case study on wood pellets

UNLOCKING GREEN JOBS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Unlocking Green Jobs: A Catalytic Intervention was a two-year initiative and collaboration between the World Wide Fund for Nature, South Africa (WWF-SA) and Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS). Published reports include a synthesis report, Unlocking green jobs in South Africa: A catalytic intervention, which summarises the findings and three three case studies.

The reports were produced with the financial assistance of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust and Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

The Essential Amathole case study focuses on the bioprospecting strategy, one of two components in the National Biodiversity Economy Strategy. Th bioprospecting strategy aims to grow the industry by 10% a year, off a 2014 baseline of R1.5 billion. The number of jobs to be created is not described in the strategy itself, but the aggregate target for the biodiversity economy is 300 000 jobs. This research provided a quantitative modelling that allowed more precise estimation of the total number of hectares that would need to be cleared of invasive alien plants, and planted, harvested and beneficiated through the extraction of essential oils (a highly profitable and labour-intensive strategy) to create these jobs.

Main report

Unlocking green jobs in South Africa: A catalytic intervention - synthesis report

Other case studies

Protecting and unlocking jobs through water stewardship: A case study Linked to the Umbogintwini Industrial Complex, Ethekwini

Unlocking and retaining jobs in the alien vegetation added value chain through industrial symbiosis: Case study on wood pellets

UNLOCKING GREEN JOBS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Unlocking Green Jobs: A Catalytic Intervention was a two-year initiative and collaboration between the World Wide Fund for Nature, South Africa (WWF-SA) and Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS). Published reports include a synthesis report, Unlocking green jobs in South Africa: A catalytic intervention, which summarises the findings and three three case studies. The reports were produced with the financial assistance of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust and Agence Française de Développement.

Recent research by the United Nations on water and jobs that estimates that three out of four jobs in the global workforce are heavily or moderately dependant on water. Constrained or expensive water supply is therefore a significant threat to existing jobs. However, managing water resources may also have the potential to create jobs as the value of water increases. This review explores both the significance of jobs at risk in South Africa and the potential to protect and create jobs through water stewardship. To better understand the variables and how they may impact a particular situation a case study that linked business, government and civil society was identified and examined. This case study is located within the Mbokodweni catchment in the southern part of the eThekwini Metro in KwaZulu-Natal. It explores the interaction between a number of community groups involved in water catchment management (and other socio-ecological initiatives).

Main report

Unlocking green jobs in South Africa: A catalytic intervention - synthesis report

Other case studies

Essential Amathole: A case study of unlocking green jobs in the bioprospecting sector

Unlocking and retaining jobs in the alien vegetation added value chain through industrial symbiosis: Case study on wood pellets

UNLOCKING GREEN JOBS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Unlocking Green Jobs: A Catalytic Intervention was a two-year initiative and collaboration between the World Wide Fund for Nature, South Africa (WWF-SA) and Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS). Published reports include a synthesis report, Unlocking green jobs in South Africa: A catalytic intervention, which summarises the findings and three three case studies. The reports were produced with the financial assistance of the WWF Nedbank Green Trust and Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

Invasive alien plants are a serious environmental challenge in South Africa, impacting on biodiversity and water supply. A set of national strategies for clearing these and beneficiating the biomass have been implemented over the past decade, with mixed success in job creation, enterprise development and poverty alleviation. This case study explores the reasons for success and failure. In particular, the case study highlights the potential to create jobs in relation to wood-pelleting and eco-matting, and suggests there are wider social arguments that should be taken into consideration when evaluating policy options for the beneficiation of alien biomass.

Main report

Unlocking green jobs in South Africa: A catalytic intervention - synthesis report

Other case studies

Essential Amathole: A case study of unlocking green jobs in the bioprospecting sector

Protecting and unlocking jobs through water stewardship: A case study Linked to the Umbogintwini Industrial Complex, Ethekwini

A green economy industry and trade analysis: Assessing South Africa’s potential

A global transition to sustainable development is under way as a response to multiple environmental crises, including the widespread impacts of climate change. South Africa has embraced the shift to a green economy to attain inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth and development. The desire to transition to a green economy has been declared at the highest political level, and the articulation of the green economy agenda is evident in the South African policy framework.

From a trade and industry perspective, the transition materialises through two complementary streams: the development of new, green industries and the greening of existing, traditional industries. Within this framework, this report focuses on the development of new trade opportunities for green industries in South Africa both for import substitution and for exports. The main objectives are to identify and assess economic sectors that offer trade opportunities from the perspective of green industrial development; inform a subsequent sector-specific assessment of opportunities at the green industry and trade nexus; and provide recommendations for policymakers on how to further harness the identified opportunities in key sectors.

The report is published as part of the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) – an initiative by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in partnership with the South African Government (the Department of Environmental Affairs, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Science and Technology, and the Economic Development Department).

The report was authored by TIPS, which led the research process, collected data, drafted the report, and managed stakeholder consultations. The research team comprised: Gaylor Montmasson-Clair (Senior Economist: Sustainable Growth), Christopher Wood (Economist), Shakespear Mudombi (Economist (Sustainable Growth) and Bhavna Deonarain (Researcher: sustainable Growth).

In addition to the Main Report, a four-page Overview is also available to download.

MEDIA

Let us dream of developing our productive capacity - Daily Maverick 21 June 2019 by Trudi Makhaya (Economic Adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa)

This Working Paper is drawn from research by TIPS prepared for the Global Green Growth Institute, the Economic Development Department and the Department of Trade and Industry. The research explored the impact of electricity price increases on the competitiveness of selected mining sector and smelting value chains in South Africa, looking at whether this has incentivised mining-related companies to invest in renewable energy, cogeneration and energy efficient.

The research concluded that the response of mining value chains to the shift to a green economy cannot be business-as-usual. Successful management of the global green transition will require short-term pragmatism and longer-term planning in the South African mining industry, linking business, government, labour, non-governmental organisations and the research community in support of sustainable development

Key policy recommendations included addressing institutional and legal confusion around environmental regulations; enforcing environmental and social 'licences to operate'; accelerating and supporting the use of renewable energy and cogeneration; and the need to better understand the interplay between industrial development, trade and the green economy in South Africa,  particularly the potential risks and opportunities.

This report is part of the project called the “Social Dialogue for Green and Decent Jobs. South Africa - European Dialogue on Just Transition” funded by EuropeAid's budget line SA/21.060200-01-08. The project has been cofunded by Sustainlabour. The Congress of South African Trade Unions – COSATU acts as partner organization.

This paper investigates the potential to harness trade finance to foster the development of a green economy in developing countries.

The world is facing multiple crises of sustainability: global financial crisis, climate change, and the overuse of natural resources. Many developing countries are additionally destabilized by poverty, disease, corruption, and failures in democratic governance and education.

The transition to a green economy is recognised by a variety of organizations and experts as a ground-breaking way forward, combining economic development, social welfare and environmental protection. In order to shift to a green economy, changes in production and consumption practices, and therefore also in trade patterns, are crucial. This makes the leverage power of leading export credit agencies, which totalled an exposure of USD 1.7 trillion in 2011, colossal.