Just transition cannot ignore communities built on coal, warns Mantashe
Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe says that the country's transition away from fossil fuels to greener energy should not exclude the country’s communities who rely on coal.
Mantashe was speaking at the Africa Energy Week in Cape Town on Tuesday.
"You are not considering human beings who are staying there, nor communities that developed around those areas,” Mantashe said.
"Therefore, a just transition must talk to people, society and communities. It can't be about switching but switching but developing alternative economic activity. Seventy-five percent of our electricity generation comes from coal."
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There are ten towns in South Africa that have been formed along coal regions.
They include Belfast, Ermelo, Hendrina, Oogies, Middelburg, eMalahleni, Leandra, Kriel, and Delmas.
Mantashe says that if the country had to completely switch from coal, this would have a devastating impact on these communities.
