An Analytical Framework to Assess Green Transition Jobs in South Africa

Katherine Davidson, Ariane De Lannoy, Joanna Grotte, Aindam Jana, Anda David and Murray Leibbrandt
Additional contact information
Katherine Davidson: University of the Free State
Ariane De Lannoy: SALDRU, University of Cape Town
Joanna Grotte: SALDRU, University of Cape Town
Aindam Jana: African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research, University of Cape Town, South Africa

No 309, SALDRU Working Papers from Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town

Abstract: The threat of climate change and the resultant catastrophic weather events across the globe underpin the need for a shift away from carbon-intensive modes of production. In South Africa, where the generation of electricity is heavily reliant on coal, this imperative is recognised, and various policies are aimed at supporting the implementation of a Just Energy Transition. This transition to a greener economy can have various impacts on the labour force, with a significant concern being an increase in unemployment. In this paper we propose an analytical framework for profiling workers who are likely to be impacted by the energy transition, based on what work they do and in which industry they work. By combining a bottom-up approach to identify occupations related to the green transition, with a top-down approach to identifying ‘brown’ industries, we arrive at a matrix that allows us to look at where on the nexus between green transition occupations, and brown industries, workers find themselves. Using South African labour force data, we plot these two dimensions characterising a worker’s employment, and provide a nuanced picture of what type of worker may be at risk of, or alternatively better placed to withstand, the potential effects of the green transition. This can ultimately assist in developing efficient and effective policies and interventions to mitigate the potential risks of the green transition. A key feature of the framework is its flexibility with respect to the definition of ‘green’ jobs and ‘brown’ industries; the bottom-up and top-down methodologies; as well as the data utilised, extending the usefulness to a global level.

Date: 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-env
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://opensaldru.uct.ac.za/handle/11090/1044 Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ldr:wpaper:309

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in SALDRU Working Papers from Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Alison Siljeur ().