Green jobs: access to clean energy can create employment in South Africa

Improving energy access through sustainable energy choices will create jobs, not emissions, in the South African economy. Greening the country’s economy is far more likely to benefit than to slow development, as so many believe. One way of greening South Africa’s economy is to reduce its dependence on high-polluting coal. Accessing available, clean resources such as wind and solar power and improving use of biomass (mainly wood fuel) will create additional sources of energy for industry and households alike, while building demand for new skills, jobs and enterprises. South Africa is in dire need of more energy and the poorest households tend to be the poorest in terms of energy access, too. The implementation of sustainable energy access projects in poor areas~demonstrates that communities can make their own energy choices, attract investments and open up job and enterprise opportunities to support their energy choices. Current policy is found to be incoherent however and the country cannot rely on market forces alone to drive change.