Coal and Energy in South Africa - (Edinburgh Studies in Urban Political Economy) (Paperback)

About the Book

Taking the growing South African mining town of Emalahleni as a case study, this book investigates whether a just transition from coal-generated energy is possible and what the local implications of this global restructuring of the energy sector will be.

Book Synopsis

Taking the growing South African mining town of Emalahleni as a case study, this book investigates whether a just transition from coal-generated energy is possible and what the local implications of this global restructuring of the energy sector will be. It looks at the consequences of shifting social responsibilities, new inequalities and the sustainability concerns created by the likely energy transition in Africa at the end of the fossil-fuel era.

From the Back Cover

Provides an assessment of the coal industry, theoretical debates about coal, and government's role in a just transition and sustainability This book investigates the consequences of shifting social responsibilities, new inequalities and the sustainability concerns created by the likely energy transition in Africa to end the fossil-fuel era. Focusing on describing the local realities in a growing coal and energy town of South Africa, Emalahleni, it explores whether a just transition from coal-generated energy is possible and what the local implications will be of this global restructuring of the energy sector. The book also provides an overview of the current situation in South Africa, mining and mining towns and the theory of a just transition and mine closure, in order to present a thorough assessment of the political economy of coal towns. Lochner Marais is Professor of Development Studies in the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State. His research integrates themes of housing policy, health and mining communities. Philippe Burger, an economist by training, is currently the Pro Vice-Chancellor: Poverty, Inequality and Economic Development and Vice-Dean at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Maléne Campbell is Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of the Free State. Stuart Paul Denoon-Stevens is a Lecturer in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of the Free State. Deidré Van Rooyen is Programme Director for Development Studies and a researcher in the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State.

Review Quotes

This volume was an eye opener. The authors in this work of genuinely thorough scholarship skillfully use their South African mining story to develop bigger arguments about the complexity of transitioning away from a dominant resource economy. While the dramatic history of South Africa and its outsized mining sector is unique, the set of questions which arise is not. The town they focus on is still booming, but other communities already experience post-mining life, and, as the editors say, 'nobody plans for decline'. Planning for decline is especially hard when coping with growth requires all attention of local government, when post-apartheid elites want to finally benefit, and business people do not see an end to the boom. Envisioning what a transition would look like, and preparing for this, is hard. Turning such vision into a strategy is even harder. If we want such a transition to be more than economic survival, and more than avoiding environmental catastrophe, i.e. if we strive for fairness in the process and prosperous communities as a result, then the dimensions of the challenge are hard to overestimate. As the authors note, the reverberations of unregulated and unanticipated closure after a boom can span generations. Neo-liberal ideologies and mining companies anxious to avoid responsibility for communities they used to control, as well as workers desperately in need of opportunities, do not prevent the search for a just transition, however. The analyses in this book reveal, beyond complexity and despair, many signs of hope and pathways to brighter post-mining futures.--Kristof Van Assche "University of Alberta"

About the Author

Lochner Marais is Professor of Development Studies in the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State. His research integrates themes of housing policy, health and mining communities.

Philippe Burger, an economist by training, is currently the Pro Vice-Chancellor: Poverty, Inequality and Economic Development and Vice-Dean at the University of the Free State.

Maléne Campbell is Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of the Free State

Stuart Denoon-Stevens is Lecturer in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of the Free State

Deidré Van Rooyen is Programme Director for Development Studies and a researcher in the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.