Re-Imagining the Role of Climate Finance in Promoting a Just Transition: The Case of Post-apartheid Divided Small Towns in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province

Abstract

As part of its low-carbon development ambitions in 2011, South Africa adopted the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). REIPPPP is aimed at accelerating South Africa’s decarbonisation process by driving the uptake of renewable energy. Since it was launched in 2011, several renewable energy projects have been developed across the country. Some of these projects are located in South Africa’s small and rural towns. As part of REIPPPP policy, renewable energy projects are obligated to support local communities located within a 50 km radius of where they operate. This paper investigates whether the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in Siyathemba Local Municipality (SLM) are contributing to socio-economic development in the towns Prieska, Niekerkshoop and Marydale. SLM has five IPPs (wind generation and solar PV) which are operational. Channelling climate finance at local level has the potential to intensify distributional justice by increasing the share of resources to deliver more just processes and outcomes (Colenbrander et al. in Climate Policy 18:1–22, 2018). In the context of South Africa, there is limited research which has investigated whether the 1–1.5% of revenues that is supposed to be provided by the IPPs to local communities has actually translated into socio-economic development opportunities in beneficiary communities. As an urban geographer who is interested in development issues, I explore whether small rural and remote towns in South Africa, which are some of the most divided urban spaces, are benefiting from the mobilised climate finance in South Africa.