Divergent Visions of Just Transition in South Africa's Environmental and Labour Movement

While the term of a ‘just transition’ has gained prominence in academic and policy debates on decarbonization, there exists no universally accepted definition or framework for its implementation. This paper adds empirical substance to the conceptually ambiguous notion through original qualitative research conducted in South Africa, a country highly dependent on coal in its electricity generation and currently in the process of developing and implementing its just transition framework. It does so by focusing on the visions of the environmental and labour movement pertaining to the just transition – actors which have high interests in the just transition aiming to reduce environmental and climate impacts from coal mining and aiming to reduce the impacts of such a just transition on workers, respectively. Based on 32 semi-structured interviews, the empirical results demonstrate that there exist significant differences in visions across multiple interconnected dimensions, including jobs and workers, environment, frontline communities, power dynamics, governance structures, societal considerations, economic pathways, and broader structural reforms. For one, the study reveals significant contestation among different actor groups within and across the two social movements regarding the components that should be covered by a just transition according to their vision. Second, these components also vary in the implied scope of change that is deemed necessary by the two movements to achieve their vision of a just transition. A formal index illustrates that the labour movement envisions a narrower scope of the just transition than the environmental movement. The findings highlight the complex, multi-faceted nature of the just transition as it materialized ‘on the ground’ and underscore the need for more nuanced approaches that can accommodate diverse stakeholder perspectives.