There are huge profits to be made in exploiting South Africa’s natural resources. But these come at a cost to society and the environment.

South Africa needs an environment minister who will stand up for people who are threatened by pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and the depletion of non-renewable resources. That includes both the country’s Black and low-income communities, who are disproportionately impacted, and future generations.

Yet Dion George, the new minister, doesn’t inspire hope. He is one of six leaders from the Democratic Alliance (DA) that President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed to his cabinet on 30 June. They are now part of the government of national unity formed after the African National Congress (ANC) failed to win a majority in the 2024 elections. George was previously shadow minister of finance for the DA.

Pro-corporate eco-policy

In an interview just after his appointment, George signalled support for the continued use of coal during the energy transition. He indicated that he would not allow South Africa to be “bullied” into transitioning away from fossil fuels too fast.

If the government continues to license more companies to mine and explore for fossil fuels, impoverished communities will likely continue to see the kind of pollution and damage to the environment they have experienced from fracking, offshore seismic blasting and toxic gas emissions. They have opposed these activities in many instances.

Citizens’ resistance in the courtrooms and on the beaches is part of a global climate justice movement. This movement aims to make the polluters pay ecological reparations – including climate debt for greenhouse gas emissions – and to clean up current pollution. It also insists on a rapid transition to renewable solar- and wind-generated energy.

George’s view is that money will be available in the markets and through foreign aid as climate finance for this transition. Yet 97% of financing from the European Union, UK and US as part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership, now worth $9.3 billion, is in the form of loans. The US is routing its $1 billion in loan guarantees through the private sector and its own commercial banks.

South Africa’s total private- and public-sector foreign debt is already $165 billion. Its debt exceeds 40% of GDP, the same ratio that led to a default in 1985. Moreover, that debt requires repayment in foreign currencies, and as the rand depreciates  – for example, from R6.30 to the $1 in 2011 to R18.30 today – these repayments will become more expensive.

That means many new technologies, such as solar panels, won’t be economically sustainable due to the high capital and installation costs. These costs are typically $7,240 for six panels, an inverter, and battery.

Failing to protect communities

Shell, TotalEnergies, and Impact Oil are currently exploring for oil and gas offshore in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. These fossil fuels, once extracted, will dramatically raise the country’s scope three (indirect) greenhouse gas emissions to levels in excess of Paris Climate Agreement commitments. They will also disrupt communities which live on and generate a livelihood from already-stressed marine ecosystems.

When asked about this, George did not commit to protecting the climate, saying: “if there’s going to be exploration off the coast, for example, well there’s an impact on the ocean ecology, there is an impact on the communities that might be reliant on fishing.”

He also signalled support for coal, the dirtiest form of electricity generation. “We are sitting on a pile of coal,” he said. “It’s inevitable that we are going to use that for energy…That is the reality. You cannot change it. The fact of the matter is that we do not have enough electricity actually in our grids.”

Currently, 85% of South Africa’s electricity comes from coal. Yet with sufficient political will, coal can be left unexploited. Even Europe reduced coal combustion by 22% in 2023 compared to 2022.

South Africa is already taking far too long to ditch fossil fuels. In 2022, the Climate Justice Charter Movement lobbied European governments to impose climate financial sanctions on South Africa. Although the West ignored that call, climate trade sanctions are imminent. Starting in 2026, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will lower South African exports to Europe and the UK as new tariffs punish exports that rely on excessively carbon-intensive embedded energy.

Fossil capital and South African politics

Though he is learning climate-woke rhetoric, George joins at least three cabinet colleagues from the ANC who have backed the use of fossil fuels. Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa favours keeping coal-fired power plants open longer and even wants to reopen the coal-fired Komati power plant that was shut in 2022. Minerals and Petroleum Minister Gwede Mantashe is another fossil fuels champion. And Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has, in the past, suggested that government force banks to finance more coal projects and, in 2022, promoted new methane gas and nuclear plants.

We also need to bear in mind that George will be subjected to lobbying by climate-insensitive mining and smelting corporations such as the coal operations Thungela (ex-AngloCoal), Exxaro Resources, and Seriti Resources. These firms also include Anglo American, with its reliance upon smelters for platinum; steel giant Arcelor Mittal; and global chemicals and energy giant Sasol, the company that hosts the world’s single most damaging CO2-emissions hotspot.

The Energy Intensive Users Group of 27 corporations, which consume 42% of South Africa’s energy but provide just 4% of jobs, and the National Business Initiative also want to retain a fossil-addicted economy, albeit slowly shifting from coal to methane gas.

George has claimed commitment to combat climate change but holds a pro-corporate ideology. It will be up to the environmental justice movement to intensify its activism and change the balance of forces.

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