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Assessing policy barriers to the energy transition in South Africa

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  • Todd, Iain
  • McCauley, Darren

Abstract

A transition away from fossil fuels in South Africa is required to meet the obligations of the Paris Agreement, and to address the challenge of climate change. The country remains on an unsustainable path towards increasing fossil fuel dependency, while its immense potential for renewable energy lies untapped. Urgent work is needed to identify and assess the policy barriers which are holding the country back. The limited literature on barrier theory is reviewed, and a new taxonomy of policy barriers is developed. This is then used to interpret the findings of 28 elite semi-structured interviews with key organisations and individuals, which are analysed to ascertain what lies beneath the current direction of travel, and how these barriers are impeding progress. The paper develops the policy implications of those findings and presents conclusions for action needed by the South African government and others. It further concludes that the techniques developed are applicable to a wide range of transitional situations.

Suggested Citation

  • Todd, Iain & McCauley, Darren, 2021. "Assessing policy barriers to the energy transition in South Africa," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:158:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521003992
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112529
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. McCauley, Darren & Pettigrew, Kerry, 2023. "Building a just transition in asia-pacific: Four strategies for reducing fossil fuel dependence and investing in clean energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    2. Badr Eddine Lebrouhi & Eric Schall & Bilal Lamrani & Yassine Chaibi & Tarik Kousksou, 2022. "Energy Transition in France," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-28, May.
    3. Darren McCauley & Rebecca Grant & Evance Mwathunga, 2022. "Achieving energy justice in Malawi: from key challenges to policy recommendations," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 170(3), pages 1-22, February.
    4. Elżbieta Jadwiga Szymańska & Maria Kubacka & Jan Polaszczyk, 2023. "Households’ Energy Transformation in the Face of the Energy Crisis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-23, January.
    5. Liu, Yuan & Chen, Jiahui & Zhao, Lutao & Liao, Hua, 2023. "Rural photovoltaic projects substantially prompt household energy transition: Evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    6. Badr Eddine Lebrouhi & Éric Schall & Bilal Lamrani & Yassine Chaibi & Tarik Kousksou, 2022. "Energy Transition in France," Post-Print hal-03716839, HAL.

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