The ‘capability’ of South African energy governance to deliver urban sustainable transitions

Stephen Essex; Federico Caprotti; Jiska de Groot; Jon Phillips; Lucy Baker; Peta Wolpe; Yachika Reddy

doi:10.1080/17535069.2023.2261899

The ‘capability’ of South African energy governance to deliver urban sustainable transitions

Stephen Essex^*
, Federico Caprotti
, Jiska de Groot
, Jon Phillips
, Lucy Baker
, Peta Wolpe
, Yachika Reddy

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

University of Exeter
University of Cape Town
SOAS University of London
University of Sussex
Sustainable Energy Africa

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Critical to the trajectory and outcome of urban sustainable energy transitions is the ability of government institutions to foster conditions for change and innovation. In this paper, a theoretical perspective combining state power and local governance capability is used as a lens to examine the transition of the energy system in South Africa based on semi-structured interviews with a range of relevant stakeholders, supplemented by analysis of published academic and policy literature. The discussion highlights uneven transitional pathways across the country caused by variations in ‘capability’, together with continuing conflicting interests within the system which require more politically-informed policy processes.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	515-542
Journal	Urban Research & Practice
Volume	17
Issue number	4
Early online date	27 Sept 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2023.2261899
Publication status	Published - 27 Sept 2023

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals

Keywords

urban sustainable energy transitions
governance
South Africa
institutional capability
political power

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10.1080/17535069.2023.2261899Licence: CC BY

FINAL REVISION 310823 Capabilities PaperAccepted author manuscript, 1.21 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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AU - Reddy, Yachika

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AB - Critical to the trajectory and outcome of urban sustainable energy transitions is the ability of government institutions to foster conditions for change and innovation. In this paper, a theoretical perspective combining state power and local governance capability is used as a lens to examine the transition of the energy system in South Africa based on semi-structured interviews with a range of relevant stakeholders, supplemented by analysis of published academic and policy literature. The discussion highlights uneven transitional pathways across the country caused by variations in ‘capability’, together with continuing conflicting interests within the system which require more politically-informed policy processes.

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KW - institutional capability

KW - political power

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The ‘capability’ of South African energy governance to deliver urban sustainable transitions

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

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