South Africa at a crossroads: Navigating global leadership for green industrialisation
Image: Independent Media Archives
Poised at a critical crossroad, South Africa finds the complexities of its just transition encompassing both profound challenges and significant opportunities – illuminated by the recent G20 Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' Meeting and Minister Parks Tau's budget speech for the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition. These two events offer a glimpse of how the country could leverage its leadership position internationally and domestically to drive a sustainable, equitable and transformative economic shift.
As South Africa approaches the G20 Summit in November 2025, the G20 Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' Meeting held in Durban last week demonstrated the country's standing in building unity and the influencing global financial ecosystem. The meeting culminated in the issuing of a communiqué consented to by all members that centres on strategic macroeconomic issues, multilateral cooperation, price stability and capital mobilisation - all having important implications for South Africa's just transitions.
At the meeting, ministers and central bank governors considered key recommendations for enhancing collaboration among Vertical Climate and Environment Funds, Multilateral Development Banks, National Development Banks, and the private sector for innovative financing mechanisms. They also shared views on binding macroeconomic and microeconomic constraints to scaling up sustainable finance. Significantly, members reaffirmed the urgency of scaling up financing for adaptation and just transitions. South Africa's global advocacy within the G20 is commendable, but the true measure of our G20 Presidency lies in converting these high-level pledges into tangible impacts that elevate marginalised communities.
At home, Minister Tau's budget speech put the urgency of action required to address entrenched economic exclusion. For the past three decades the country's economy has been trapped in a paradox albeit blessed with mineral wealth, human ingenuity, and democratic promise, yet shackled by 34% unemployment, devastating poverty and inequality, and growth averaging just 0.7% since 2014. Minister Tau's green industrial vision presents a promising pivot that is centred around renewable energy, critical minerals beneficiation, local manufacturing, and inclusive finance that turns country's economic polycrisis into a bold just transition programme in which the energy transition benefits the society.
Green industrial hubs such as the Boegoebaai Hydrogen SEZ and its concomitant R339 billion investment pipeline promised a series of value chains beyond renewable energy. A well planned and sequenced implementation will have a monumental impact. The South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) targets local manufacturing of solar, wind turbines, and batteries for industrial scale manufacturing capabilities with significant value chains development envisaged.
This illustrates a potential roadmap for green industrialisation, catalysing substantial investment and job creation. However, the success of these plans hinges critically on execution, ensuring that the public and private sectors procurement policies enforce local content. The promised "high-speed approval lane" under the Omnibus Bill for high impact projects must ease the doing business. Developing local and black industrialists, and community and worker owned enterprises should be the cornerstone of the bill's implementation to democratise the local ownership of the economy.
Moreover, the international trade landscape and geopolitics presents both threats and opportunities. The 'Butterfly Strategy' posited by Minister Tau rightly sets out to diversify the country's trade beyond the West. As the United States trade regime threaten South Africa with a 30% tariff and the European Union implement its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms, South Africa's exports face threats at multiple fronts.
The Minister's speech lacked substantial content on the 'Butterfly Strategy', whether new markets are being sought or expanding existing markets to mitigate the risks exposure of South African exporters. While he did make cursory reference to ongoing engagements with the United States government, he provided no other alternative action barring the African Continental Free Trade Area. Possible expansion considerations may include prioritising regional value chains in batteries, electric vehicles, and solar technology with Namibia (green hydrogen), DRC (cobalt), and Morocco (solar), building out trade agreements within BRICS, etc.
Ultimately, the G20 commitments and Minister Tau's green industrial strategy intersect profoundly. Both stress the importance of inclusive growth, sustainable finance, and collective action. South Africa's leadership in the G20 offers a unique moment to advocate for global equity while simultaneously transforming our domestic economy. This dual role requires vigilance and accountability to ensure lofty goals translate into lived realities.
South Africa's industrial policy goes beyond economic growth, it serves as a form of social healing. Imbuing the just transition into industrial policy will lead the redress of historically skewed economic ownership and participation patterns and changing the fabric of our society into one of shared prosperity for all. The alignment between international advocacy and domestic action could set South Africa as a global example of how finance, industrial policy, and social justice can converge, powerfully impacting the most vulnerable in society. Yet this potential demands a commitment to action, beyond rhetoric, and beyond pledges. It is a moment to unite collective efforts across government, industry, and society, moving decisively from vision to reality. South African can lead the Global South but only if we treat this moment with urgency and into collective creation.
Devan Pillay is the Executive Manager: Institutional Support at the Presidential Climate Commission.
Image: Supplied
Devan Pillay is the Executive Manager: Institutional Support at the Presidential Climate Commission
*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOL.
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