Policy options for employment intensive and low emissions development in South Africa

Introduction South Africa has the dubious distinction of having amongst the highest rates of unemployment and inequality in the world. It is also one of the most emissions-intensive economies, measured in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of economic output. The co-existence of high unemployment and high emissions intensity is not just a coincidence. South Africa’s history of segregation and apartheid has had profound implications for its development path. One outcome was an economy heavily based on mining, mineral processing and heavy industry, subsidised by cheap electricity. This is what Fine and Rustomjee dubbed the ‘mineralsenergy complex’ (MEC). Focusing on industrial and energy policy, this Policy Brief outlines the key drivers of our historical development path. It then considers how South Africa could get onto a more employment-intensive and low-emissions development path.