Die Politik- und Regulierungslandschaft für den Transfer grüner Technologien in Südafrika (EN)

Summary

Executive summary

South Africa's push for a green economy is a core part of its national development strategy. Foundational documents dating back to 2003 (the White Paper on Renewable Energy of 2003 and the National Energy Act 34 of 2008) link this vision to critical socio-economic goals such as job creation and poverty reduction. This policy review examines the policies, regulations and key players involved in green technology transfer across vital sectors such as energy, water, waste and agriculture, and provides valuable insights into whether the policy environment is conducive for technology transfer. Where technology transfer is promoted, the channels and funding streams are highlighted. The review also provides an opportunity to identify core tensions and contradictions within the current policy mix.

The review focuses on four critical sectors that reflect South Africa’s most pressing economic vulnerabilities and its significant socio-economic opportunities: energy, water, agriculture and waste. For each sector, there is evidence (both explicit and implied) to suggest that South Africa has developed a comprehensive set of policies and legal instruments aimed at facilitating green technology transfer and ensuring a just transition. The success of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme serves as a clear example of how public-private collaboration and performance requirements can effectively attract foreign direct investment to fund and implement new green infrastructure and technology.

However, due to deep-seated policy conflicts, such as the tension between localisation requirements and the urgent need for rapid decarbonisation, this ecosystem faces significant challenges. Policies focused on social equity, such as local content requirements, may delay and increase the cost of the transition, creating a trade-off between social objectives and climate urgency. Additionally, regulations like the Protection of Personal Information Act can inadvertently create non-tariff barriers by imposing complex data obligations on foreign technology providers.

To create a resilient and inclusive green technology ecosystem, South Africa must harmonise its policy landscape to minimise internal contradictions, expedite the translation of research into commercial products and strategically strengthen institutions that can foster trust and reliable data sharing among government, business and academia.

Introduction

In recognition of the compelling environmental, economic and social benefits, countries worldwide are transitioning towards a green economy and utilising green technologies. Besides mitigating climate change, the green economy also seeks to promote employment and sustainability in new industries, such as clean technology and sustainable agriculture.¹ To achieve this, African countries will require access to external green technologies which are both robust and responsive. This is because many African countries lack the domestic capacity for extensive research and development (R&D) in cutting-edge green technologies. Access to external technologies allows them to transition from traditional, carbon-intensive development pathways to cleaner, more efficient solutions.²

In this regard, green technology transfer (hereafter ‘green tech transfer’) occurs through several channels, including foreign direct investment (FDI), trade in goods and services, licensing and franchising, movement of skilled people, R&D, and technical and development aid. In the context of this policy review, we consider the channels of trade and FDI. Trade facilitates the flow of green products and services, such as solar panels and wind turbines, from innovating countries to countries in need. FDI, on the other hand, is a vehicle for transferring not only capital but also intangible assets like knowledge, skills and managerial capacity.³ China, South Korea and Singapore are examples of countries that have successfully leveraged a combination of trade and FDI to achieve significant technology transfer (hereafter ‘tech transfer’) and drive economic growth.

While FDI into Africa is on the rise, notably in clean energy industries, its role in green tech transfer is uncertain.⁴ The challenge is how to efficiently direct such investment into projects that genuinely increase sustainable development. Trade in green technologies, on the other hand, remains inward, with African countries importing the bulk of the goods.⁵ Although African countries are permitted to have access to embodied technology, the deeper transfer of disembodied technology – the know-how, skills and ability to manufacture and innovate locally – remains insufficient. African countries are now increasingly preoccupied with formulating policies that stimulate green tech transfer and build localised technological capabilities to maximise the benefits of these capital and technology inflows.⁶

In recent decades, the South African government has been engaging in a transition to an inclusive and just green economy. The transition requires a new, overarching development paradigm that puts environmental sustainability at the centre and responds to the socio-economic imbalances presently experienced by most citizens.⁷ It will also require access to technology. Like several other African countries, South Africa lacks the required modern technological capacity to effectively localise production and undertake extensive R&D in cutting-edge technologies.

One of the principal challenges for South Africa has been to attract the kind of manufacturing FDI that creates a robust green industry at the domestic level, as opposed to projects focused simply on resource exploitation. To this end, the government is contemplating policies such as local content requirements for green investments and the creation of a more stable and supportive regulatory environment.⁸ Furthermore, the government has established frameworks and agencies, such as the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA)⁹ and the National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO), to support commercialisation and guide tech transfer. South Africa’s intellectual property laws ensure that taxpayer-funded inventions benefit all citizens, promoting economic development, job creation and improved living standards.¹⁰

As a first step in understanding South Africa’s green tech transfer ecosystem, this review examines South Africa’s policies and regulatory frameworks in the context of trade and FDI. It also maps key actors moderating green tech transfer across critical sectors, including energy, water, waste and agriculture. The work has involved rapid desktop research relying on secondary data. In the sections to follow, we define the concept of the green economy and provide an overview of its policy and regulatory environment. We then focus on the policy and regulatory frameworks related to green tech transfer and the relevant sectors. The next section looks at the key actors and stakeholders impacting green tech transfer in South Africa. We then highlight the challenges and opportunities in the green tech sector and draw our conclusions.

South Africa’s quest for a green economy and the green tech transfer imperative

As evident in the 2003 White Paper on Renewable Energy, South Africa's embrace of a green economy is an established, integral element of its national development strategy. The 2008 National Framework for Sustainable Development fully articulates the country's vision for sustainable development, which seeks to achieve a ‘sustainable, economically prosperous and self-reliant nation state’. In this vision, the green economy is characterised by two related developmental results: (i) the growth of economic activity in the committed green industry sector, and (ii) a general, systemic transformation of the entire economy towards cleaner industries and practices. The vision also includes a broad array of jobs, such as those in R&D, engineering and traditional blue-collar occupations like plumbing and electrical wiring, which are essential to preserving ecosystems, conserving energy and water, and minimising waste and pollution. The transition to a green economy is regarded as essential for safeguarding national democracy and meeting the basic human needs of citizens through the sustainable management of natural resources.¹¹

There is a strong, though complicated, set of policy and legislative frameworks informing South Africa's transition to a green economy. Rather than having a unified strategy, the country relies on a diverse and fragmented collection of policies and legislation across different sectors and government departments. The foundational policy landscape is reviewed below.

The National Development Plan and the New Growth Plan

South Africa's long-term green economy vision is based on the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 and the New Growth Path (NGP). Both provide high-level strategic direction, foreseeing that the country will have a competitive, resource-efficient and inclusive economy. The master thought is to decouple economic growth from resources and environmental degradation through increased investment in green sectors and policy reforms.

The NDP 2030 is the nation's long-term socio-economic roadmap, which was reaffirmed in the country’s Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan, passed as a response measure to COVID-19. It positions the green economy as an essential part of its overall development plan. Priority is given to key services such as water and infrastructure in order to drive development and reduce poverty. The NDP stresses the importance of policy coordination in energy, transport and industry policies, among others, to ensure a smooth transition towards a green economy.¹² Although the NDP does not specifically mention tech innovation and tech transfer in a particular piece of legislation, it establishes the strategic importance of green tech transfer as a key enabler for achieving its long-term goals. The NDP’s link to green tech transfer is discussed under environmental sustainability and resilience, which focuses on the transition to a low-carbon economy.¹³

South Africa's New Growth Path (NGP), on the other hand, prescribes adjustments in the nature and composition of production to build a more inclusive and greener economy over the medium to long term, with specific focus on developing a local manufacturing base for green technologies.¹⁴ The NGP's vision for the green economy is a just transition which prioritises that the change to a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy must also tackle social equity and the creation of jobs, as encapsulated in the Green Economy Accord (2011), a social compact between government, business and labour to realise the NGP's aspirations.¹⁵

While these two reports provide strategic direction, the challenge remains to translate this high-level vision into concrete, implementable policies that can practically achieve both social equity and economic development.

The Climate Change Act and national targets

The Climate Change Act, No. 22 of 2024, provides the legal and regulatory framework for the country's response to climate change, thus legislating the policy aspirations of the low-carbon, resource-efficient economy envisioned in the National Climate Change Response White Paper of 2011. The act is intended to underpin a long-term, equitable transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy and society. While the act does not have a dedicated green tech transfer section, it creates an overarching legal and institutional framework that makes the development, deployment and acquisition of green tech a legal requirement for achieving the country's climate goals and commitments made in the Paris Agreement of 2015. The act mandates all governments to align their policies with the Paris Agreement’s objectives, thereby placing a firm legal mandate on coherence in policy and the avoidance of contradiction. Among the tools of the act is the allocation of carbon budgets to high-emitting sources, which compels them to develop and submit plans to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs). To incentivise each sector to reduce its GHG emissions, the Carbon Tax Act 15 of 2019 was promulgated to encourage a transition to a low-carbon economy by applying the polluter-pays principle and introducing a carbon levy. These two climate-change-related acts are binding and, by focusing attention on a ‘just transition’, ensure climate action is not pursued at the expense of any given stratum in society, a significant consideration given South Africa's high unemployment and inequality.¹⁶ This legal framework directly influences and empowers the operational policies that drive the green transition.¹⁷

The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan

The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) is South Africa's five-year green transition investment plan to deliver the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) objectives. The plan aims for more than R1 trillion in new investment, with a vision to generate quality work, improve energy security and position South Africa as a leading actor in the green economy. One of the most significant features of the JET-IP is the historic Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) deal signed at COP26, which secured an initial USD 8.5 billion from a group of international partners to catalyse funding.¹⁸ The funding is intended to de-risk projects and mobilise a much greater number of resources from public and private sources. The JET-IP aims at three priority areas: the power-generating sector, new energy vehicles (NEVs) and green hydrogen.¹⁹ This sectoral targeting renders the JET-IP a key tool for facilitating tech transfer and rendering transition, an industrialisation driver, a job creator and an engine of economic diversification.²⁰

Other frameworks impacting green tech and tech transfer, which also reveal both the complexity of the green economy and its inherent tensions, include:

South Africa’s trade, industry and FDI policy landscape

Trade policy

South Africa does not have a standalone trade policy document. Instead, its trade policy is articulated by an array of policy frameworks, strategies and legislative instruments, guided by the South African Trade Policy and Strategy Framework (TPSF) of 2010, which acts as a foundation document. The TPSF is considered essential for initiating a shift away from the simplistic, across-the-board tariff reduction strategy of the past. It has advocated a strategic tariff policy whereby tariffs are selectively employed as a tool to aid industrial development, especially in labour-intensive sectors.²⁴ It remains at the heart of the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) decision-making strategy.²⁵

One of the central assumptions of the TPSF was to render trade policy complementary to industrial policy.²⁶ The TPSF insisted that trade policy should not be an objective in itself but should be tailored to the broader goals of industrialisation, job creation and economic diversification. It also called for a development-oriented trade policy, particularly in relations with other African countries, and to take advantage of its trade relations to spur industrialisation and the growth of infrastructure on the continent.²⁷ While the TPSF does not focus exclusively on tech transfer, it mentions and supports green tech transfer as a key component of South Africa’s trade and industrial policy. The TPSF explicitly states that the government should ‘scale up implementation of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) to support broad-based industrialisation, promote cleaner, lower-energy technologies and green jobs, and attract investment into the green economy’.²⁸

South Africa's trade policy approach is being re-evaluated to align with the world's green economic and technological revolutions, as well as benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA is seen as a landmark for South Africa's trade policy as well as a statement of intent on the growth path that will support its progress in the coming decades.²⁹ Currently, ITAC is reviewing 82 tariff codes from the renewable energy sector, with recommended changes ranging from increasing customs duty on foreign parts where domestic production is viable to imposing export control provisions on strategic minerals to ensure an indigenous supply that is secure.³⁰

Despite not having a standalone strategy, there is a need to reiterate the importance of the TPSF. Although it dates back more than a decade, its principles are highly applicable and continue to inform the country's industrial policy approach.

Industrial policy

South Africa’s industrial policy has evolved to deal with the challenges of the green economy. All the traditional IPAPs between 2007 and 2020 clearly named the green economy as one of the priority sectors to industrialise. Local content requirement in the renewable energy sector, for example, is one way the IPAP leveraged public procurement to force transfer of technology and skills. Furthermore, the green industries sector is strategically focused on industrial support, which facilitates tech transfer by attracting FDI that owns desirable green tech. The IPAP also identified the Industrial Development Corporation (a government developmental funding arm for industrial policy), which set aside funding (R25 billion over five years in earlier IPAP plans) toward the green economy and energy-efficient projects. However, the IPAP has been substituted with a ‘Reimagined Industrial Strategy’ (RIS) that uses sectoral master plans to underpin a multi-stakeholder initiative of government, the private sector and labour.³¹ The principal enablers of this strategy are greater localisation, manufacturing and innovation, and science and technology commercialisation.³² This joint endeavour is a deliberate departure from previous state-led initiatives and is a principal vehicle for risk mitigation and building consensus on investment within a high-complexity economic environment through a PPP approach.³³ The RIS elevates the role of green tech transfer by making ‘Greening the Economy’ a foundational pillar for industrial renewal and structural transformation. Unlike previous policies that treated green industries as just one sector, the RIS embeds the necessity of aligning with the global green economic and technology revolutions across the entire policy framework.³⁴ The RIS is then translated into sector-specific master plans that outline the timeframes and investment quantum for the green economy and other developmental imperatives.

The major master plans that have been launched and are in operation include:

The new industrial policy is being applied to new sectors. For example, the domestic Automotive Master Plan is being adapted to facilitate a transition into the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector in order to protect sector employment and promote new economic growth in green production. The action is considered to be vital to South Africa's potential to continue its position in global export markets, particularly since EU policies are phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles.³⁵

Other key national plans/master plans include:

In another, related initiative, the Green Hydrogen Commercialisation Strategy and the Hydrogen Valley project intend to develop a new export industry through the application of the country's world-class renewable energy resources and extensive supplies of platinum group metals (PGMs).³⁶ The Hydrogen Valley project, in particular, is anticipated as an industrial cluster wherein various hydrogen applications are concentrated and niche innovations are accelerated through upscaling and replication.³⁷

The development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), such as the Atlantis Greentech SEZ, is yet another key strategy to attract and aggregate green tech manufacturing. The zones create a special business environment with incentives such as a 15% preferential corporation tax rate and allowances for construction to promote sustainable economic growth and job creation. The Coega IDZ, for example, utilises public sector investment to promote foreign and domestic direct investment in manufacturing, with an emphasis on skills development, tech transfer and job creation.³⁸

Foreign direct investment policy

FDI policy is mainly regulated by the Protection of Investment Act 22 of 2015, which aims to provide a stable and predictable legal environment for investors. It ensures foreign investors receive the same treatment as domestic investors, a principle known as ‘national treatment’ by the World Trade Organisation. South Africa’s FDI policy does not rely on a single, restrictive law but uses a collection of incentives, regulations and strategic industrial policies to actively link incoming FDI to domestic technology innovation and tech transfer. The primary objective is to shift policy from merely attracting, to maximising long-term domestic benefits from every investment.³⁹ The connection between FDI and technology is mainly driven by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the DTIC) through its incentive programmes and industrial schemes. The country has a specific interest in sectors with high prospects for green tech, such as renewable energy and energy-saving technologies, electric car manufacturing, agriculture, and waste and water management.⁴⁰

The JET-IP functions as a successful means of attracting FDI by sourcing finance from global partners to de-risk projects for private investment.⁴¹ This is supplemented by the central role of development finance institutions such as the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) that provide finance along with technical support. The IDC's Green Energy Efficiency Fund, for instance, gives loans to businesses to invest in more efficient technology, and the DBSA provides access to the Green Climate Fund and other international mechanisms for low-carbon development initiatives.⁴²

One of the most prominent examples of this FDI targeting strategy is the IDC's funding of the Steenkampskraal Rare Earths Project.⁴³ This is a direct attempt to exploit South Africa's wide mineral base, which is of strategic value to the global green transition, and position the country as a significant player in the environmentally sensitive critical minerals sector.⁴⁴ The project is a real-time extension of the Hydrogen Valley approach, and is at the top of FDI wish lists hoping to beneficiate platinum group metals and establish a new, diversified manufacturing base.⁴⁵ Investment in the Steenkampskraal project indicates a strategic shift from passive FDI attraction to a proactive, targeted approach.

Innovation and technology policy

Science, innovation and technology commercialisation are expressly mentioned as the driving facilitators for the green economy.⁴⁶ The 2019 white paper on Science, Technology and Innovation outlines a wide strategic framework, demanding that the country's national system is ‘responsive, inclusive and supports all forms of innovation, including at the grassroots level’.⁴⁷

South Africa's innovation system is supported by public research organisations such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which is committed to technology and innovation commercialisation for industry and socio-economic development. The CSIR is involved in the transfer of technologies from prototype to early-stage product, usually through licencing agreements to established or new companies. It does so with stringent due diligence, business plan assessment and scrutiny of potential economic, social and environmental impacts.⁴⁸ A prime example of this is the CSIR achievement in commercialising its fluidised bed combustion technology, which converts industry waste to energy and is licenced through South African engineering companies to generate custom units for clients.⁴⁹ This is an example of a mechanism which transfers intellectual property from a public research institution to the private sector.

However, there is a significant gap between these policy intentions and the capacity to implement them. A South African public sector tech transfer survey found that while nearly three-quarters of public R&D and commercialisation support organisations have tech transfer policies, their performance measures are low, at just 15%. Of serious concern was that only half of the respondents were funded with any money to undertake tech transfers, and of that, most was less than R1 million. Further, there was a serious concern regarding the low measurement of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and trade outcomes, which trailed behind other measurements of benefits like development and transformation.⁵⁰

This suggests that a policy framework for innovation exists, but the ecosystem to support it – including adequate funding, effective collaboration between the public and private sectors, and an environment that fosters risk-taking – is underdeveloped. This represents a crucial barrier to effective tech transfer and local value creation. Simply possessing a technology is not enough; the capacity to absorb, adapt and scale it is the missing link. The benefits of tech transfer are not being realised in areas deemed key policy imperatives.⁵¹

Technology transfer in key sectors

Below, we focus on four key sectors, highlighting the policies at the national level that govern tech transfer and, where possible, provide case studies of initiatives currently underway. The four sectors are energy, agriculture, water and waste. These sectors are significant in the South African context because they collectively highlight the country's most pressing economic vulnerabilities as well as its largest socio-economic opportunities for a just transition. Analysing these sectors is essential, as they illustrate the critical tension between South Africa's urgent development needs and its serious environmental limitations.

The energy sector

The central policy plans that oversee tech transfer in South Africa's power sector are the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which outlines the specific energy technologies, and the Integrated Energy Plan (IEP), which regulates the energy industries and promotes investments in accordance with the IRP. Both the IRP and IEP are considered key national electricity supply planning documents. Other policy guidelines, such as the National Energy Act (2008) and the Electricity Regulation Act (2006), are also foundational.⁵²

These policies are not explicitly focused on stand-alone tech transfer. Instead, they incorporate tech transfer as a key component towards the achievement of broader national energy objectives, such as:

Tech transfer is addressed in the policy papers in some significant ways:

The policies anticipate technology and knowledge transfer to take place primarily through these channels:

These mechanisms also directly target knowledge transfer and skills development. They are aimed at local workforce upskilling and reskilling, from managers to technicians, to ensure South Africa has the capacity to operate and maintain the new energy facilities. With respect to funding, tech transfer funding is multilateral and comes from various sources:

The agricultural sector

In South Africa, tech transfer in agriculture is guided by a series of policy documents that are interdependent and nested within broader development and strategic plans. The policies aim to transform a previously dualistic sector with highly advanced commercial farming and less developed smallholder farming into a competitive, sustainable, more inclusive sector. The main policy frameworks guiding tech transfer in the agricultural sector are:

The policy documents also mention tech transfer as a major area of agricultural development and touch upon the following areas:

The policies envision technology and knowledge transfer taking place through various channels:

Funding for the programmes comes from a combination of sources:

An important issue to emphasise about the agricultural policies highlighted above is that they concern not just physical technology transfer but knowledge transfer and budgetary support to promote PPPs to encourage green tech transfer. They emphasise the need for exposure to human capital in terms of training, mentorship and capacity-building programmes. The objective is to equip farmers with the capacity to not only adopt new technology but also to understand the rudiments of modern agriculture so that they can make the right decisions and adapt to emerging problems.

The water sector

Technology transfer in South Africa's water sector is governed by a framework that seeks to address severe water stress, ageing infrastructure and climate change. The policies are not just about importing hardware but also building local capacity and knowledge to manage water resources sustainably. The key policy documents informing technology and knowledge transfer are:

These documents are proactive and strategic in character. They go beyond a response to water crises to promote a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. The policy documents deal with tech transfer in the following significant respects:

Policies anticipate a multi-stakeholder transfer strategy, with the following being the main channels:

Finance for water tech transfer is availed through a mix of sources:

Beyond the physical movement of technology, the policies heavily emphasise knowledge transfer. The WRC's capacity-development programmes and skills-development initiatives associated with large infrastructure projects aim to provide South Africa's water sector with the human resources needed to run advanced systems and adapt to a changing climate.

The waste sector

Tech transfer in South Africa's waste sector is informed by policies that aim to move away from reliance on landfill towards a circular economy. This involves perceiving waste as a resource and deriving value from it through reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery. Policy documents that mainly inform tech transfer are:

These are strategic and enabling policies that seek to create a scenario under which innovation and technology can thrive. They recognise that the transition to a circular economy will necessitate significant technological and behavioural changes. The policy papers address tech transfer in various ways:

Transfer of technology and knowledge is to take place through these channels:

Finance for tech transfer in the waste sector comes from a range of sources:

Besides financial and technical transfer, significant focus is placed on knowledge transfer to empower small-scale enterprises and informal waste collectors. This is achieved through training schemes, capacity development programmes, as well as mainstreaming of the informal sector into formal waste management value chains. A summary of the key policies and programmes, the policy domain, and relevance to tech transfer relevance is provided in Table 1.

Table 1
South African green transition policy assessment table

Synergies, conflicts and the dynamics of tech transfer

Policy synergies and reinforcing mechanisms

South African policy design has several synergies of significance for augmenting the green transition. The JET-IP acts as a crucial facilitator that aligns foreign direct investment (FDI), industrial policy and climate goals through external financing to reduce risks and fund targeted industrial initiatives in specific sectors.⁷⁰ Such coordinated action addresses the ‘bankability challenge’ and aligns financial flows with strategic national targets, hence making technology absorption and utilisation possible.⁷¹

There is also a significant synergy between industrial and trade policy through the AfCFTA. The focus of the agreement on pan-African promotion as one big market offers a larger regional platform for national green producers to achieve the economies of scale needed to compete at the international level.⁷² Through regional value chain growth, the AfCFTA provides an essential market solution that complements domestic industrial policy and reduces reliance on extra-continental imports.⁷³

Policy conflict and trade-offs

Despite the synergies, some critical conflicts and trade-offs slow and reduce the effectiveness of green tech transfer. The most significant conflict is between localisation requirements and decarbonisation cost and pace. Projects like the REIPPPP, while intended to foster local manufacturing and employment, can escalate the price of projects and act as a trade barrier, as was the case in the wind sector of Brazil.⁷⁴ This is a latent trade-off. Either the country develops its domestic industry slowly and expensively or imports cheap technology to decarbonise more rapidly. The first is focused on the social objectives of the ‘just’ transition; the second is focused on meeting the urgency of the energy crisis and climate goals. The irony of the ‘just transition’ is that the very policies aimed at fighting inequality and protecting vulnerable communities can make the transition less economically sound and more time-consuming, with cost premiums often being passed on to the consumer.⁷⁵

Key actors and stakeholders

The effectiveness of South Africa's green tech transfer ecosystem is a direct function of the collaboration and coordination among its key actors. The system is marked by both well-functioning partnerships and persistent institutional silos.

The public sector

Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)

The DFFE stands as the guardian of South Africa’s environmental vision, steering the nation toward a sustainable future while championing the green economy agenda. Tasked with managing the Green Fund, it plays a pivotal role in formulating strategies to combat climate change. Engaging vigorously in the debates surrounding carbon taxation and carbon budgets, the DFFE is at the forefront of crafting policies that balance environmental preservation with economic growth.⁷⁶

Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC)

The DTIC serves as a catalyst for innovation in green industrial policy, unlocking a wealth of new business opportunities poised to reshape the economy. With the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC-SA) under its wing, the DTIC empowers local industries to minimise resource consumption and embrace transformative cleaner production practices.⁷⁷ It is also the driving force behind significant industrial initiatives, including the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) aimed at steering the nation towards sustainable energy solutions.⁷⁸

Department of Science and Innovation (DSI)

The DSI is responsible for encouraging socio-economic uplift through groundbreaking research and innovation. It leads the charge in fostering research infrastructure and nurturing human capital development, ensuring that the nation stays ahead in a rapidly evolving world.⁷⁹ The DSI also plays a pivotal role in various sectoral initiatives that are aimed at fostering resilience against future challenges by funding projects that address pressing issues in water management, waste reduction and agricultural advancements.

State-owned enterprises (SOEs)

Eskom has a near monopoly in the energy sector, accounting for about 95% of the nation’s generated electricity. It not only meets the energy demands of millions but also acts as the primary off-taker from the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).⁸⁰ Through its internal Just Energy Transition (JET) Office, Eskom has embarked on an ambitious journey towards decarbonisation by 2050, illustrating a bold commitment to evolving from its traditional reliance on fossil fuels to a more sustainable energy paradigm.⁸¹

The private sector

Private sector investment has emerged as a driving force in the pursuit of national climate objectives. Among the prominent initiatives, the REIPPPP stands out as a notable success, effectively directing billions of dollars from private corporations into the development of renewable energy infrastructure across the country.⁸²

In addition to direct investments, financial institutions have taken on pivotal roles in this landscape. For instance, Standard Bank has distinguished itself by launching the country's inaugural offshore green bond, aimed at funding a diverse array of projects centred on renewable energy, enhancing energy efficiency and constructing sustainable green buildings. This strategic move signifies a growing commitment within the financial sector to support environmentally responsible initiatives.⁸³

Further reinforcing the private sector's impact is its substantial contribution to the implementation of cutting-edge technologies. Companies are actively developing and deploying solutions such as expansive solar farms, which harness sunlight to generate clean energy, and innovative water-saving technologies designed to promote efficient water use. Through these efforts, the private sector is not just a financial contributor but also a key driver of technological advancement and sustainability in the movement toward a greener future.⁸⁴

Civil society and academia

Non-profit organisations (NPOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a pivotal role in bridging the gaps among business, government and academic sectors, with organisations such as GreenCape serving as essential ‘cluster agencies’. GreenCape excels in providing comprehensive market intelligence and tailored policy advisory services, significantly contributing to the establishment of the South African Renewable Energy Market (SAREM), where it functions as the secretariat.⁸⁵ This involvement demonstrates its commitment to facilitating a smoother transition to sustainable energy solutions. Additionally, advocacy groups like Earthlife Africa are crucial players in the green transition, focusing on oversight and promoting environmental policies that encourage accountability and transparency.⁸⁶

Research institutions, including the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and leading universities, are fundamental to the R&D pipeline necessary for advancing sustainable technologies.⁸⁷ However, a notable and persistent challenge exists in the form of insufficient collaboration between these research entities and the private sector. This disconnect hampers the effective translation of innovative academic research into commercially viable products and solutions that can be scaled to meet market demands.⁸⁸

The effectiveness of this multifaceted ecosystem relies heavily on a selection of well-functioning, linked organisations that can facilitate collaboration. In the current context, there is poor coordination among various actors within the civil society and academia space, which can stall progress. The success of organisations like GreenCape highlights that addressing the implementation gap goes beyond mere policy creation. It requires a strategic focus on empowering institutions capable of building trust, sharing reliable data and fostering meaningful collaboration among government agencies, businesses and academic institutions. By nurturing these relationships, the civil society and academia space can thrive, leading to more effective solutions in the sustainable development arena.⁸⁹

Summary and conclusion

South Africa's efforts to establish a green economy are part of a broader national development strategy. Foundational documents such as the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 and the New Growth Path (NGP) outline a strategic vision to decouple economic growth from resource use and environmental degradation, while creating a competitive, resource-efficient and inclusive economy. This transition is supported by the Climate Change Act (2024), which requires that all government policies align with the goal of achieving a just transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.

The strategy for green tech transfer is implemented through a diverse but somewhat fragmented collection of policy and legislative frameworks. For instance, the Reimagined Industrial Strategy (RIS) and its master plans (e.g., SAREM) position ‘Greening the Economy’ as a key focus area. This strategy promotes localisation requirements, arising from previous iterations of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) and the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to encourage the transfer of manufacturing expertise from foreign direct investment (FDI) to local firms. The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) serves as the core operational framework, targeting over R1 trillion in new investment. A notable feature is the initial USD 8.5 billion pledge, which acts as seed funding to de-risk projects and attract additional resources from both public and private sectors. Public research institutions like the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) are responsible for enhancing local capabilities by commercialising technologies through licensing agreements and R&D partnerships.

This review focused on four critical sectors that reflect the country’s most pressing economic vulnerabilities and significant socio-economic opportunities: energy, water, agriculture and waste. For each sector, there is evidence (both explicit and implied) to suggest that South Africa has developed a comprehensive set of policies and legal instruments aimed at facilitating green tech transfer and ensuring a just transition. The success of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) serves as a clear example of how public-private collaboration and performance requirements can effectively attract FDI to fund and implement new green infrastructure and technology.

However, this ecosystem faces significant challenges due to deep-seated policy conflicts, such as the tension between localisation requirements and the urgent need for rapid decarbonisation. Policies focused on social equity, such as local content requirements, may delay and increase the cost of the transition, creating a trade-off between social objectives and climate urgency. Additionally, regulations like the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) can inadvertently create non-tariff barriers by imposing complex data obligations on foreign technology providers.

The potential of academic research and public innovation agencies is severely limited by insufficient funding for commercialisation and poor collaboration between research entities and the private sector. The capacity to absorb, adapt and scale transferred technology remains a crucial missing link, hindering the full realisation of technology transfer benefits in key policy areas. Policy success is primarily evaluated through development and transformation goals, while the measurement of environmental, social and governance outcomes often lags. To create a resilient and inclusive green tech ecosystem, South Africa must prioritise harmonising its policy landscape to minimise internal contradictions, expedite the translation of research into commercial products and strategically strengthen institutions that can foster trust and reliable data sharing among government, business and academia.

Endnotes

About the author

Taku Fundira

Taku Fundira is a research analyst with 15+ years in quantitative economic analysis, market research, trade & investment. An expert in agriculture, energy, mining & tech across Southern/East Africa.