| Work Detail |
Altogether, we found that 62% (28,400) of coal households were vulnerable
The move to renewable energy in South Africa means that the coal industry will be phased out over the coming decades. This transition away from a fossil-fuel based economy will affect over 100,000 workers in coal mining and coal-fired power generation – and their families.
Economics professor and director of the Development Policy Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, Haroon Bhorat, and economists Francois Steenkamp, Tsungai Kupeta and Lisa Martin researched how many workers will be affected by the transition, and came up with ideas for policies to lessen the impact of the transition on vulnerable households and regions.
What does South Africa’s coal industry look like?
Globally, coal mines are generally concentrated in certain areas. This means that the labour market effects of the transition away from coal are also mainly concentrated in particular regions. For example, in South Africa there are 78 operating coal mines. Of these, 65 (or 83%) are located in the south-west part of Mpumalanga province. These 65 mines also account for approximately 80% of total coal production.
Coal-fired power generation is also concentrated in Mpumalanga. Of the state energy provider Eskom’s 14 coal-fired power plants, 11 are located here. These account for 70% of Eskom’s operating capacity.
Have you read?
Coal-mining communities still in limbo about SA’s Just Energy Transition
Coal mining in South Africa
Coal mining on its own only accounts for 0.5% of total employment in South Africa. But coal-fired power generation and manufacturing industries account for a lot more jobs in the coal value chain. These include the chemicals and petrochemicals industry, and Sasol’s coal-to-liquid fuel plant, which uses 33% of non-exported coal. Aluminium, ferro-alloys and other metal producers use 12% of all non-exported coal. About 40% of South Africa’s coal is exported.
About 85% of South Africa’s electricity is produced by burning coal. This means that every electricity-dependent industry is to some degree ultimately linked to the coal value chain.
We reviewed all publicly available data on the coal industry for our research. But the data are limited. We were only able to measure the number of workers in coal mining and in coal power generation who could lose their jobs. It’s clear, however, that jobs could also be lost along the coal value chain.
Our research offers initial ideas on how to structure an approach where policies are tailored to the characteristics of the workers. Our future work aims to cost a potential policy package for the just transition.
How many coal industry workers will be affected by the transition?
Most of the coal mining workforce (75%) work in semi-skilled, craft and related trade (40%) and plant and machine operator (35%) roles in the coal mining industry. |
