Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.
Title
Please provide a name for your action learning plan.
Collective Intelligence and Climate Action: Giving Communities a Voice in the Just Energy Transition
Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
BIG BET
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Our challenge is that the most vulnerable groups who will be affected by the Just Transition, namely people living in coal mining communities, have not been sufficiently consulted regarding their futures during and after the transition.
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
South Africa generates about 80 percent of its electricity through coal and is in the grip of an energy crisis. According to a study conducted by COP26, South Africa is the world’s 13th biggest source of greenhouse gases and will need to spend over $250 billion to transition to net-zero CO2 emissions in South Africa by 2050.
The local social and economic effects of mine closures will be significant and highly concentrated; the majority of Eskom’s coal plants — and the mines that supply them — are located within a 100km radius. Closure of mines will result in loss of livelihoods for miners and the communities built around them. Closing mines not only displaces mine workers, but disproportionately impacts workers in related sectors i.e., transport, and entire communities in surrounding coal regions. This is particularly true of isolated regions where infrastructure and services are tied to mining. In these communities, mine closure will affect all economic activity. Many coal-producing countries lack the resources needed to protect workers and communities, remediate impacted lands, and capitalize on the economic opportunities a transition away from coal makes possible. In addition, the relatively high earnings in mining means it will prove difficult to develop equivalent livelihoods when coal employment begins to decline.
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
https://www.climatecommission.org.za/publications/south-africas-ndc-targets-for-2025-and-2030
https://www.energy.gov.za/files/media/explained/south-african-coal-sector-report.pdf
https://www.pwc.co.za/en/assets/pdf/sa-mine-2022.pdf
https://www.thepresidency.gov.za/content/south-africa%27s-just-energy-transition-investment-plan-jet-ip-2023-2027
https://www.climatecommission.org.za/publications/design-addition-and-amendment-to-just-transition-framework-with-dedication-to-pcc-secretary
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
https://pccommissionflow.imgix.net/uploads/images/Community-Consultations-on-a-Just-Transition-May-2022.pdf
https://www.climatecommission.org.za/events/skills-for-a-just-transition-indaba
https://www.climatecommission.org.za/events/just-transition-framework-implementation-consultation-secunda-mpumalanga
https://www.climatecommission.org.za/events/just-transition-framework-implementation-consultation-emalahleni-mpumalanga-2
https://www.climatecommission.org.za/events/just-transition-framework-consultation-carolina-mpumalanga-2
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
1. By surfacing their views, perceptions and attitudes on the JET, we will help coal miners and coal mining communities to feel heard and included in decision making and designing their future; and
2. By enabling coal miners and coal mining communities to express their views on JET, we will create intelligence that can contribute to decision makers regarding enhancing the justice of the Just Transition.
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
The South African AccLab will be surfacing insights from cola mining communities regarding their awareness, perceptions, and views on the Just Energy Transition to inform bottom-up programme design and decision making
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the partner:
Seriti Institute
What sector does our partner belong to?
Civil Society
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Seriti Institute have developed strong relationships with communities across the country. They will be leveraging these relationships to identify and recruit local data collectors from the community and conducting training in data collection methods, safety, approaches etc. They are our implementing partner on the ground.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
What are the awareness levels and perceptions of the Just Energy Transition in coal mining communities?
How can the vulnerable groups affected by the Just Energy Transition have their voices heard? What are key factors in decreasing potential conflict and contestation in the implementation of a Just Energy Transition?
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Sense, Explore, Test, Grow
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
These methods will allow us to capture and codify the data we collect from selected respondents, while also allowing an adaptive, bottom-up approach to incorporate unexpected themes and insights
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
Though some consultations have taken place with coal mining communities, these have been very broad and have not allowed for communities themselves to express their preferences. By drawing on this data, we can increase the justice in the just transition
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
This project is scaling a pilot project from 2023, and it forms part of a JET portfolio of work within the CO. We will continue to engage with government partners to ensure the data and findings are taken up, and that the community engagement can be scaled by them in the coming years.
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7Affordable and clean energy
13Climate action
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