energy transitionlatest news & developments
Alternatives: As businesses and wealthier households increasingly turn to rooftop solar and private generation, municipalities are being left with shrinking revenue bases . Photo: File

SA’s municipal power supply goes downhill

As struggling municipalities face shrinking income and mounting debt, innovative renewable energy models are aiming to stabilise costs and secure power systems

  • Eyaaz
7 min read
President Cyril Ramaphosa. (GCIS)

Climate change an existential threat, Ramaphosa says

President calls for urgent action to move South Africa’s just energy transition from commitment to delivery at the inaugural meeting of the reconstituted Presidential Climate Commission

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
Ramaphosa said the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan has attracted about R250 billion in international pledges for large-scale manufacturing, infrastructure and skills development.

Ramaphosa pledges green growth, energy reform

The focus is on manufacturing green products for global markets and modernising the country’s power system, the president says

  • Sheree Bega
3 min read
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe (Delwyn Verasamy, M&G)

Global rush for critical minerals puts African countries at risk, Mantashe warns

Geopolitical rivalries over minerals are intensifying, placing Africa’s resource-rich countries under pressure, the minister told delegates at the mining indaba

  • Eyaaz
4 min read
Life president: NRM Presidential Candidate Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, together with the First Lady Maama Janet Museveni, arrive at Buziga Islamic School grounds, Makindye Division, to kick off election campaigns. Photo: National Resistance Movement

Africa 2026: polls sans choice, jobs

In addition, some of the continent’s wars show little sign of resolution

  • Eyaaz
7 min read
In 2024, global coal consumption reached a record high, with commercial banks investing more than $130 billion across Asia, the US and Europe.. (Paul Botes)

Coal lobby urges ‘fair’ funding as civil society warns against false claims

Mike Teke, of FutureCoal, has written an open letter to global financial leaders urging them not to turn their backs on coal

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
South Africa’s push for a permanent Y20 council met strong resistance, exposing divisions on climate, gender and technology and leaving the forum without a final communiqué

G20’s youth forum split over wording and accountability structure

For the first time in 14 years, the G20 youth engagement group (Y20) closed its summit last week without issuing a communiqué — the set of recommendations that usually feeds into a declaration by world leaders at their annual summit, this year being hosted in Johannesburg in November. In June, the Y20 submitted a communique […]

  • Eyaaz
5 min read
The energy transition itself carries human rights risks. If clean energy is built on compromised rights, it will not be sustainable in the long term. Photo: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Clean energy must extend beyond megawatts and minerals

Renewable does not always mean responsible, which is why business and human rights needs to be at the heart of Africa’s energy future

5 min read
Women and children work at an artisanal cobalt mine in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: Augustin Wamenya/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

South Africa’s G20 presidency must rewire the global race for critical minerals

It must champion a new global compact on critical minerals, one that prioritizes beneficiation, environmental protection, fair labour and development justice.

7 min read
(File photo by Tafadzwa Ufumeli/Getty Images)

Global mining conflicts surge, posing threat to clean energy transition

Conflicts over mineral mining, including copper and lithium, are rising, threatening billions in investments and slowing the clean energy transition, a new study finds

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
The migration to renewable energy is gaining momentum but there is a shortage of storage facilities. Photo: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Africa’s renewable energy takes off: But where is the storage?

Through investment in technologies and expertise, proper regulations and collaboration between African governments and other actors, the continent can embark on a solid energy transition

5 min read
A new case study proposes that, as part of the country’s energy transition, mining-affected communities, like those in Sekhukhune, set up solar farms through cooperatives to generate electricity for their own use.

A new currency backed by minerals? Africa is gambling on its energy transition

The continent must use energy minerals for its development rather than feeding them to industrialised countries

4 min read
Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe.(Rodger Bosch/AFP)

No minerals for the US if aid is cut, Gwede Mantashe threatens

The mineral and petroleum resources minister also told the mining indaba that the African continent must take charge of its mineral wealth

  • Eyaaz
4 min read
The mining industry has the potential to grow if there is more investment in exploration projects. (Michele Spatari/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Confluence of geopolitics, energy and trade can drive change in Africa’s mining industry

The theme of the February 2025 Mining Indaba, Futureproofing Mining Today, underscores the urgency of aligning policy, investment and local development to secure sustainable growth

  • Eyaaz
6 min read

Enlit Africa 2025 – switched on to the power, energy and water sector

Enlit Africa, the continent’s pivotal annual gathering for the power, energy and water sector, is returning to Cape Town from 20-22 May 2025 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).

3 min read
US Pesident Donald Trump. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump’s return to power sparks uncertainty over US climate commitments

South Africa and other developing nations are pushing for a $1 trillion climate finance target

  • Eyaaz
6 min read
Ramaphosa said the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan has attracted about R250 billion in international pledges for large-scale manufacturing, infrastructure and skills development.

Municipalities in SA’s energy heartland, Mpumalanga, have financial problems implementing the energy transition

South Africa has received pledges of about $11.6 billion for its just energy transition. Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism asked the treasury how much will be given to Mpumalanga and what is being done about indebted municipalities to ensure they get the funds for the transition

  • Eyaaz
8 min read
On the move: Taxi motorcycles in Ambohitimana, a neighbourhood in the capital city Antananarivo. Photo: Oscar Nkala

‘Silent predators’ in the energy transition

Companies mining commodities needed for the global energy transition are accused of keeping affected communities in Madagascar in the dark about their plans

  • Eyaaz
10 min read
Village chief Mulema Bantu: ‘We know that conditions are often stipulated for mining companies, but we know nothing about them or their content.’ Photo: Jonas Kiriko

We want a say in transition mining, say DRC communities

Communities living on and working land in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say they are not informed about mining permits for energy transition minerals

  • Eyaaz
8 min read
Mining near the community forest of Bamasoba situated in North-Kivu. Photo: Jonas Kiriko
Video

Cobalt crush undermines future of DRC’s community forests

A historic UN deal to restore degraded forest ecosystems in southeastern DRC is being torn apart by mining companies

8 min read