South Africa Charts Its Own Climate and Energy Path, G20 Consensus or Not
As host of the G20, South Africa is placing energy security and climate justice at the forefront of the global agenda, using its platform to champion Africa’s unique challenges and opportunities.
Energy Access and Security: Africa’s Defining Challenge
Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy, Samantha Graham-Mar, frames South Africa’s G20 presidency as a crucial opportunity to spotlight the continent’s profound energy deficit. With 600 million Africans living without electricity and over a billion lacking access to clean cooking, the scale of the challenge is immense.
Initiatives like the Mission 300 Programme, aiming to connect 300 million people by 2030, and the Energy Efficiency Facility for Africa are central to the strategy. “It doesn’t help that we increase Africa’s connectivity and then we don’t give them energy efficiency, which we call the first fuel,” Graham-Mar notes. For South Africa itself, the immediate priority remains ending load shedding and stabilizing the national grid.
Defining a Just Energy Transition: Affordability, Access, and Inclusion
The concept of a just energy transition is a cornerstone of the government’s policy. The deputy minister stresses that this transition cannot be allowed to deepen energy poverty. True energy justice, she argues, must be rooted in affordability, availability, and accessibility.
“It doesn’t help if people can see power lines but have no power in their homes,” she states, highlighting the gap between infrastructure and actual delivery. Clean cooking has emerged as a rare area of consensus within the G20, with South Africa launching a legacy project in Mpumalanga and advocating for the issue continent-wide.
Consensus and Partnerships Amid Global Divides
The path to global agreement is rarely smooth. While South Africa sought consensus on seven key G20 energy outcomes, only the clean cooking initiative achieved unanimous support—a situation partly attributed to the US withdrawal from certain climate commitments.
Despite this, Graham-Mar insists the presidency has been a success, pointing to strengthened relationships with Europe, Korea, and Japan, as well as growing African cooperation on interconnectors and transition financing. “Consensus or not, it was an opportunity to highlight our needs and build networks that would have taken five years to achieve otherwise,” she reflects.
Rethinking the Just Energy Transition: South African Priorities First
A significant shift is underway as the government moves to realign its Just Energy Transition (JET) plan to reflect domestic realities rather than external priorities. “We’re now in a position to make this a South African just energy transition, not a European one,” Graham-Mar asserts.
This recalibration is vital, she explains, given that Africa receives a meager 2% to 3% of global climate-transition funding. The focus is now on creating bankable projects that attract concessional and grant-based finance, steering clear of unsustainable debt.
Jobs, Localisation, and Green Industrialisation
Linking the energy transition to job creation and industrial opportunity is a core priority. As Africa’s most industrialised yet most unemployed nation, South Africa’s ministry is guided by two overarching goals: energy security and employment.
Through the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan, the government has identified over 4,000 components in the renewable energy value chain that can be locally manufactured. “We can’t compete with China on solar panels, but we can build the components, services, and skills around renewable energy,” Graham-Mar says, outlining a strategy focused on competitive advantage and small-business participation.
Gas, Nuclear, and the Long-Term Energy Mix
In the intricate puzzle of South Africa’s energy future, gas is described as a necessary transitional fuel, crucial for converting diesel-based peaking plants and supporting heavy industry. However, a pressing challenge looms: current gas imports from Mozambique are projected to decline by 2028, necessitating a urgent search for new sources.
For long-term baseload stability, Graham-Mar points to nuclear energy as essential. The government is advancing plans for up to 4,500MW of new capacity and is exploring small modular reactors (SMRs). “If we don’t start planning for nuclear now, it becomes an even longer-term strategy,” she warns.
Measuring Progress: From Load Shedding to a Lasting Legacy
How should citizens measure success? For Graham-Mar, the most tangible metric is the stabilization of electricity supply, which she cites as evidence that the ministry’s plans are taking hold. Since its establishment in April 2024, the Department of Electricity and Energy has launched an independent transmission programme, a coalition for green industrial hubs, and the Energy Efficiency Programme for Africa.
“We’ve already laid the platform for innovation, growth and development and South Africans will see the results,” she states, projecting confidence in the nation’s energy trajectory.
Source: Adapted from an original interview on the Mandates & Megaphones podcast.