Creating employment and reducing emissions

Options for South Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID21541119
AuthorsHarald Winkler (0000-0002-5826-4071, University of Cape Town, corresponding author), Anthony Black (0000-0003-3266-9991, University of Cape Town)
Year2024
Volume41
Issue6
Pages1078-1097
Publication date2024-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopment Southern Africa (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0376-835X • E-ISSN: 1470-3637
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0376835x.2024.2380716
OpenAlexW4401963327
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited28

South Africa faces huge challenges of poverty and unemployment, yet at the same time, needs to make a contribution to climate action. Historically, our pattern of development gave rise to the ‘minerals-energy complex’, locking us into low employment and high emissions development. It has proved difficult to change this structure, with political economy interests opposing shifts and high adjustment costs. We analyse policy instruments that can reshape the development path: reducing incentives to capital-intensive and high emissions heavy industry, ending direct and indirect support for cheap electricity, and removing fossil fuel subsidies. Industrial policy should pay attention to creating comparative advantage in more labour-demanding sectors. Agriculture can create employment, while enhancing carbon sinks. Based on our exploration of such policy instruments, we suggest that future development can align employment and mitigation objectives, seeking synergies across industrial, energy, and climate policy, while at the same time managing trade-offs

Agricultural economics · Business · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental planning · Environmental protection · Natural resource economics · Climate Change Policy and Economics · Environmental Science · Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth · Regional Development and Policy

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