SA’s shift to a low carbon carbon economy should not leave coal mining workers behind
The first half of 2024 has not been spared of intensified heat waves, forest fires, floods and drought, with the impacts devastating on workers, enterprises, and communities.
These threats are particularly severe for those already facing socio-economic challenges, including women, persons with disabilities, youth, and migrant workers, among others.
The country’s economy has long been underpinned by carbon-intensive industries such as coal mining and energy production, providing jobs and livelihoods for many within the coal belt in primarily Mpumalanga.
Equally we must accede that it is these high carbon emitting industries that have driven and contributed to our industrialisation both globally and in our own country, and in the same breadth led to environmental degradation primarily in the form of air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions leading to global warming and the resultant climate change crisis.
This global crisis, of a rapidly changing climate, has impacted the condition of workers through heat-related ill-health, respiratory illnesses from poor air quality, as well as the physical and mental health impacts for workers on the frontline.
The decarbonisation of the global economy is already taking place, with the shrinking demand for coal as countries diversify their energy mix to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions– such a decline and has already had an impact on workers in the mining and energy sector in places like Mpumalanga and Kwazulu-Natal with the closure of mines and decommissioning of power stations.
South Africa has committed to a just and effective climate change response through a long-term, just transition to a climate-resilient and low carbon economy.
This response has objectives of managing climate change impacts through interventions that build our resilience and make a fair contribution to the global effort to reduce GHG emissions within a timeframe and a pace that enables sustainable development.
However, the potential for job losses remains a trigger for anxiety and insecurity for many workers, as it is undoubtedly evident that the historical labour market and the downstream demand for goods and services in the coal value chain stand to be significantly impacted by the economic transformation necessitated by new and greener industries.
We all agree that climate impacts could exacerbate existing inequalities and decent work deficits, become an additional driver of the displacement of people, and reverse gains in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and in the converse taking climate action towards a circular economy could yield much needed jobs.
It is, therefore, critical that workers and communities within the coal value chain are not negatively impacted in South Africa’s decarbonisation pathway, and also do not carry the overall burden of the transition.
To mitigate against these job losses, government, private sector and labour need to work collaboratively to offset losses within the coal value chain through the development of new industries underpinning our growth and development ambitions in a decarbonised economy to ensure that workers are not negatively impacted by the transition.
Recently, the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) hosted a two-day Capacity Building Workshop for organised labour within the coal value chain, focusing on the role of labour within the just transition. Acknowledging that it was the labour movement in South Africa and globally which mooted the notion of a “just transition” more than a decade ago.
The workshop’s focus was beyond building capacity of labour but sought to critically engage labour on issues ranging from social protection measures, re-skilling, new economic opportunities, and quality and sustainability of jobs as some of the key concerns for thousands of workers impacted by the transition.
The participation of labour in policy discussions and climate action is fundamental to the success of our just transition journey, as it better ensures that the shift to a low-carbon economy is not only equitable but also inclusive, with the risks and opportunities distributed fairly, cognisant of gender, race and class inequalities.
The PCC as an advisory body and enabler for action will later this month launch a research report on employment opportunities in the just transition that considers expanding existing economic sectors and also developing new economic sectors to diversify the Mpumalanga’s economy.
The early findings of this research report advocate not just the creation of new green jobs but also wider economic diversification of the coal belt, the adoption of social protection measures as well as the reskilling and upskilling of workers for emerging sectors such as hemp and sustainable agriculture.
These proposed measures to diversify of transitioning resources economy should be designed in collaboration with workers, job seekers alike to ensure they include investing in education and vocational training, to building labour force that is adaptable and resilient in the face of the unfolding just transition.
Zimasa Vazi is a Senior Manager: Stakeholder Relations and Partnerships, Presidential Climate Commission.
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