Fostering sustainable energy transitions for South Africa's electricity sector: A set of criteria

Abstract

South Africa's electricity sector is currently pursuing a transition to sustainable energy. This paper aims to analyze the various frameworks pertaining to sustainability transitions, and more specifically, sustainable energy transitions (SETs); to subsequently develop a set of criteria for the South African regime by which to measure the country's progress towards sustainability (in the energy sector) throughout the transition pathway. SETs are vastly complex and require multi-disciplinary approaches to address societies' developmental and economic growth needs, while simultaneously addressing climate change challenges and resource constraints. Sustainability transition frameworks address multiple issues, such as: the link between energy production and consumption, and the economy; the move to sustainable technology adoption from socio-technical contexts; as well as a paradigm shift for policy-making and various other aspects that need to be addressed when transitioning to sustainability. From these insights, a set of criteria consisting of seven aspects for South Africa's electricity sector regime were developed, which includes: energy efficiency, CO2 emission reduction, economic competitiveness, supply security and generation, resilience, innovation and technology, and politics and public acceptance.