With one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world, South Africa’s planning for a just transition needs to take into account the vulnerabilities of its youth cohorts, especially those that can be qualified as “not in education, employment or training” (NEET). For example, a recent study conducted in the framework of the EU-AFD Research Facility on Inequalities revealed that the Mpumalanga province, the region with the highest exposure to the coal exit, has had a NEET youth rate of over 37% for the past decade, with almost three-quarters of them living in income-poor households.

Since 2019, the National Business Initiative (NBI) has been spearheading a multi-faceted and multi-sector partnership, which focuses on expanding and growing pathways for young people to access Installation, Repair and Maintenance (IRM) occupations. The IRM initiative is strategically aligned to various initiatives of the government to drive inclusive recovery and revitalisation of the economy, particularly in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. It has subsequently been incorporated as part of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI). The Initiative works on the premise that, by supporting township-based IRM entrepreneurs to strengthen and grow their businesses, and by linking them to localised market opportunities, there will be a concomitant increase in the demand for skilled labour, which could lead to the creation of employment opportunities. Therefore, it is a direct response to the youth unemployment challenge.

Collaborating closely with the NBI, the Centre of Researching Education and Labor (REAL Centre) contributed its expertise to the comprehensive analysis of the four key regions identified in Phase 1 of the IRM skills ecosystem mapping project: Atlantis (Western Cape), Mandeni (KwaZulu-Natal), Mamelodi (Gauteng), and Kathorus (Gauteng). Building upon the success of this initial phase, the REAL Centre will now expand the project's scope to the Nkangala district municipality, which is one of the three districts of Mpumalanga province.

This project is part of the Extension of the EU-AFD Research Facility on Inequalities. Coordinated by AFD and financed by the European Commission, the Extension of the Facility will contribute to the development of public policies aimed at reducing inequalities in four countries: South Africa, Mexico, Colombia and Indonesia over the period 2021-2025.

This work is also part of AFD's dialogue with the South African authorities on the just transition and the reduction of inequalities.

 

This research project will conduct a detailed analysis of the skills ecosystem that could feed into the various initiatives to support local authorities and communities in the Nkangala district, which concentrates the coal-fired power plants that will be closed as a result of just transition policies.

Phase 1 of the project revealed that an IRM skills ecosystem mapping project is crucial for addressing inequality by thoroughly analysing the socioeconomic and demographic profiles of diverse townships in South Africa. 

By identifying specific skill gaps and understanding the challenges faced by Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in these areas, the study can inform targeted interventions aimed at reducing inequality in access to employment and economic opportunities. 

Furthermore, by examining the role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and conducting a comprehensive literature review, the study ensures that proposed interventions are evidence-based and tailored to the needs of the communities studied. 

Ultimately, the study's approach of generating actionable insights in collaboration with stakeholders aims to drive meaningful impact and promote inclusive economic development in underserved regions, contributing to efforts to reduce inequality, to advance the principles of just transition and to foster a more inclusive society.

Building on Phase 1 of the IRM skills ecosystem mapping, researchers will apply the following method:

• They will set the context for the Nkangala district through desktop research and a few selected key informant interviews;
• They will collect primary data and set up fieldwork through stakeholder mapping workshops and key informant interviews to collect data;
• They will then provide an initial narrative on the overarching local skills ecosystem from the site mapping exercise and will draw on the document review and contextual work on the Nkangala district. Drawing on Spours’ (2019) work on ecosystems, they will use three core elements: the dimensions of verticalities, horizontalities and mediation to understand and analyse the skills ecosystem Nkangala district and to guide the cross-site analysis, building on the work undertaken during Phase 1.
  
   

You will find below the different research papers related to this project:

In progress

Contact: 

• Anda David, Research Officer, AFD

Recent studies examining the risks to financial system stability associated with nature degradation have been conducted for countries such as the Netherlands, France, and others. These studies consistently underscore that biodiversity loss can have profound destabilising effects. Such effects may arise either from the collapse of ecosystems and the services they provide to economies (referred to as ‘physical shocks’) or from shifts in behaviour, technology, or regulation linked to ecological transitions (‘transition shocks’).

However, these risks extend well beyond the financial sector, particularly in countries from the Global South. How can the macro-financial context be better incorporated into analyses of nature-related risks in emerging economies, where it plays a critical role in the resilience of businesses and institutions? And in the context of climate challenges, how can we better account for the territorial dimension of nature-related risks and conduct spatially explicit assessments?

Focusing on the case of South Africa, this study evaluates the potential effects of either a physical shock (resulting from the degradation of ecosystem services) or a transition shock (arising from measures or innovations aimed at reducing the pressures certain economic sectors place on biodiversity). These effects will be examined across multiple dimensions, including production, income generation, inflation, employment, wages, external balance, and fiscal stability.

Beyond this broad analysis, the method seeks to identify the specific locations of these risks within the region. This spatially explicit approach aims to provide actionable insights for local decision-makers, enabling them to implement well-informed measures for an effective ecological transition.

This study introduces innovative methods for assessing the socio-economic risks associated with nature degradation, grounded in two main contributions:

• Multidimensional analysis of macro-financial and social variables: the study examines the exposure of key macro-financial and social variables to nature-related risks. By using input-output tables extended to include environmental and socio-economic satellite accounts, it identifies how these risks could significantly affect sectors that are directly and indirectly critical to production chains and, consequently, socio-economic stability.
• Granular spatial assessment: at the municipal level in South Africa, the study investigates nature-related vulnerabilities through a more detailed spatial analysis. This approach integrates spatially disaggregated economic data with mapped ecological data to ensure consistency, enabling the identification of specific socio-economic exposures.

Together, these two interconnected approaches emphasize the need for a holistic understanding of nature-related risks. They demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary collaboration between economists and ecologists, aiming to balance the intertwined goals of economic prosperity, social stability, and environmental sustainability.

The study identifies economic sectors potentially exposed to significant risks and provides South African stakeholders with a foundation for conducting deeper analyses to determine the extent and materiality of these risks.

In South Africa, for instance, 80% of the country’s exports and 60% of business loans are heavily reliant on the water supply services provided by ecosystems. Beyond direct exposure, shocks affecting sectors dependent on these ecosystem services can cascade through the industrial network, triggering demand or supply disruptions. While 18% of jobs and 24% of salaries are directly exposed to such risks—particularly in the property and manufacturing sectors—these figures rise to 48% and 56%, respectively, when considering activities indirectly linked through value chains.

Given biodiversity’s strong dependence on geographic factors, it is essential to complement prior analyses with geolocalised studies. These analyses identify the economic activities located in areas where ecosystems and their services are already degraded. For example, when factoring in the location of companies involved in exports, the initial estimate that 80% of South African exports depend on surface water supply decreases to around 23%. This revised figure reflects exports generated by activities reliant on surface water supply and situated in municipalities where this ecosystem service is significantly degraded. In other words, when the geographic degradation of ecosystem services is considered, nearly a quarter of net exports are directly vulnerable to water scarcity.

Find out more: 

• Read the research paper: Socio-economic and spatially-explicit assessment of nature-related risks – The case of South Africa
• Read the research paper: A framework to assess socioeconomic and spatialized nature-related risks: An application to South Africa (Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 2025)
• Watch the replay of the Research Conversations webinar on the research project, with South African partners

The method has garnered interest and validation from numerous economic and environmental policymakers, highlighting its relevance. Rather than focusing on precise numerical results, the emphasis lies on the orders of magnitude and the identification of economic sectors that are either highly dependent on ecosystem services (exposed to physical risks) or exert significant pressure on biodiversity (exposed to transition risks). These insights are sparking interest and debate.

One of the key outcomes has been fostering dialogue among South African stakeholders who previously had limited interaction, including the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), the Department of the Environment, the Department of Finance, and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

South African stakeholders are now working to translate these technical findings into accessible materials for non-specialist audiences and to facilitate deeper discussions with representatives from sectors identified as either risk-exposed or offering opportunities for resilience and positive socio-economic impacts.

Furthermore, the South African Reserve Bank, in collaboration with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), is applying this method to assess the financial sector's exposure to nature-related risks across member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) has also begun using this approach to evaluate the exposure of its own portfolio. Future iterations and enhancements of the method are anticipated as its use expands.

• Paul Hadji-Lazaro, Ecological Macroeconomist at AFD
• Julien Calas, Research Officer on Biodiversity, AFD
• Antoine Godin, Economist, Head of AFD Macroeconomic Modelling Unit
• Andrew Skowno, National Biodiversity Analysis Coordinator at SANBI
• Pamela Sekese, Geospatial Consultant

South Africa is one of the largest GHG emitting countries due to its heavy reliance on coal for most of its energy needs. The South African government is cognisant of the fact that shifting away from carbon-intensive forms of technology to more sustainable ways of production means that some jobs will be destroyed, and new ones will be created. A concern therefore for policy makers is ensuring that the transition is just and that it will not exacerbate existing inequalities.

South Africa comes into this employment transition discussion facing a triple challenge: persistent high unemployment, inequality, and poverty. This situation has worsened since the 2007-2008 financial crisis and was further exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This complicates the discussion of an optimal social transition to a “green” economy.

This project is part of a wider research program on the just transition in South Africa, conducted with several South African research centres and in close collaboration with the South African authorities.

See also: Research on inequalities

The project will carry out a study of the South African labour market with the aim of identifying the proportion and distribution of workers engaged in “green” jobs and “brown” jobs – in other words, jobs that are ecologically sustainable and jobs that are not. It will also examine the possibilities of transitioning labour from brown jobs into low emitting sectors.

We will measure green intensity as the share of total tasks in an occupation that are green. We will also identify the share of workers in green jobs using employment information from surveys such as the Quarterly Labour Force Surveys (QLFSs) and the Census. Using industry level information on pollution, we will go further to identify occupations more likely to be in highly polluting sectors than in any other sectors. This will be described as brown jobs. Next, we will utilise occupational tasks, skills, and knowledge information from the O*NET dataset to identify important skills for brown and green jobs. This will enable us to estimate the probability of transitioning workers to green jobs. Finally, to map the location of green jobs, we will use employment information from the Census, the Community Survey, and the Spatial Tax data.

Contact: 

• Anda David, research officer, AFD