Just Energy Transition in South Africa
South Africa’s shift from coal to renewable energy is a major socioeconomic transformation, supported by the COP26 Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). However, in the Mpumalanga coal belt, the closure of mines and power stations threatens over 100,000 workers and their communities.
In partnership with the Sam Tambani Research Institute (NUM), Professor Alex Beresfod and Dr Ruth Bookbinder have produced a unique dataset based on interviews with policymakers, civil society, and union leaders, alongside focus groups with workers. Their findings highlight widespread scepticism towards climate policy, driven by concerns that justice for working-class communities is being overlooked.
In response, Beresford and Bookbinder are advancing a bottom-up model of just transition co-designed with workers. This has led to a major report for the Hans Böckler Foundation, a participatory documentary (Voices from the Green Transition), and engagement with South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission to shape policy. They are also producing climate education resources for unions. Beresford and Bookbinder have convened international practitioner workshops in Leeds to share best practice on just transitions. They have also presented their findings at Chatham House and reached wider audiences through features on BBC Radio 4’s Briefing Room and interviews available across major podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Soundcloud.
In June 2026 Prof Beresford and Dr Bookbinder were awarded the Priestley Centre Impact Prize in recognition of their work.
The project forms part of a wider global comparative study of just transitions across 14 countries. It has been supported by the Hans Böckler Foundation, alongside funding from the University of Leeds International Strategy Fund, Participatory Research Fund, and Higher Education Impact Fund Maturing Impact Fund (HEIF).
It has been a privilege to work directly with SATRI and the NUM on issues we all feel deeply passionate about. I am absolutely delighted to receive this award, which we dedicate to our partners and all those who have engaged with the project.
Working with and building the relationship with SATRI has made this a rewarding project that I love being a part of so it’s exciting for it to be recognised by the Priestley Centre as well.
Key publications
Trappmann V; Bookbinder R; Beresford A; Schulz F (2026) Just transitions in global economies? Union and worker understandings of justice in Germany and South Africa compared. Transfer European Review of Labour and Research.
Beresford A; Bookbinder R (2025) Trade Union Engagement for a just transition in South Africa: A report for the Hans Bockler Foundation.
Beresford A (2024) Land, Labour and Liberation: The Political Ecology of Southern Africa’s Unresolved Tensions. Journal of Southern African Studies, 50, (1), pp. 1-7.