Green technology readiness: A praxis for climate action in pursuit of a net zero economy

If South Africa is to realise its growth and development ambitions towards and achieve a just transition and inclusive economy, we must consider a critical aspect – and that is the green technology landscape.  Technology will remain a key driver for developing green energy solutions, optimizing renewable energy sources, advancing climate adaptation, and improving sustainable practices in agriculture and waste management.

Innovative, green technologies will allow South Africa to follow slow and fast paced transitions, where every innovative, market ready technologies jettison business-as-usual and outdated practices that lock South Africans into unsustainable futures, whilst allowing for the incubation and emergence of novel technologies. 

Green and innovative technologies provide a concrete geo-spatial, technical and outcome directed pathway with direct links to the finance and investment ecosystem, project development and the creation of bankable portfolios to attract climate finance.  The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) is laying a solid foundation for empirical, evidence-based research and acts as a central platform for socializing research that underpins our transition pathways.

Mapping the technology landscape at an economy-wide level provides a critical layer of understanding that is required to implement Just Transition hence, the Green Technology Stocktake commissioned by the PCC and the Technology Innovation Agency examines the role of green technologies in Just Transition.

The Stocktake maps and prioritises low-carbon and climate-resilient technologies across key sectors – energy, transport, industry, agriculture, water and waste. It further positions technologies based on climate impact, environmental benefits, readiness, policy alignment, commercial viability, infrastructure needs and adoption risks.

Green technology 

South Africa's transition to a low carbon economy requires the accelerated deployment of commercially ready solutions and strategic investment in emerging technologies.

South Africa has globally competitive research and development capabilities in niches like electrical vehicles charging infrastructure stand out for both readiness and performance, and battery assembly and long-duration storage via vanadium redox-flow batteries also show strong potential.

In the agriculture and waste sectors, ecosystem technologies and waste-to-energy conversion indicate scalable mitigation and Just Transition benefits. However, mature solutions such as utility scale renewables, electric vehicles, and industrial energy efficiency remain under deployed due to lagging policy implementation, infrastructure constraints and weak local manufacturing. This is not just a technical gap it is a strategic failure.

To understand why these gaps, persist, we must look beyond technology itself and interrogate the political economy that shapes its adoption. South Africa’s overarching green economy discourse is often fragmented, ranging from radical transformation to cautious resilience. 

Green growth, for example, frames the green economy as a market opportunity but this approach risks commodifying nature and potentially deepening inequality if not carefully managed. We must embrace a growth model rooted in sustainability and equity to truly reach a low-carbon, resource-efficient and socially inclusive Just Transition.

Transitioning the country’s minerals energy complex towards a Just Transition requires a deep, systemic understanding of community empowerment, renewable energy, environmentally sound ecosystem technologies and sustainable socio-economic structures into current development and planning processes. In this context, green technology is more than a tool - it becomes a battleground for innovation and investment. 

Overcoming innovation system gaps 

For our innovation, research and development agenda to realise this potential, South Africa must overcome persistent innovation system gaps. R&D investment remains below global peers. The lag between prototype and commercialization is a major barrier and regulatory incentives are inconsistent with weak institutional capacity. 

As practitioners in and pioneers of South Africa’s Just Transition, we must creatively prioritise a range of green technology pathways – and subsequent innovation – when we consider the socio-technical-economic interactions and implications of low-carbon development and climate resilience.   

The Green Technologies Stocktake aligns with this vision. It identifies localisation opportunities in critical minerals beneficiation, EV assembly, green hydrogen equipment, and battery manufacturing. These are not just climate solutions – they are industrialization pathways that can create jobs, build resilience, and reduce inequality.

Here it becomes important to integrate environmental and climate impacts with environmental technology assessments into early-stage planning. Institutional capacity must be prioritized – not as an afterthought, but as core components of the transition. 

To address these systemic gaps, the research recommends the creation of a Climate Change Technology Innovation Programme that defines a 10–15-year mission-driven portfolio of priority technologies. The programme should integrate research and development, demonstration, commercialization, and localization support. It should pool funding from national departments, development finance institutions, and international climate funds. In addition, it must embed Just Transition principles to ensure community benefits, skills development, and economic diversification. 

At every step of its research, PCC engages in consultations to vet its evidence-based research. These processes generate shared visions for supportive action, however without execution is just rhetoric and execution demands, inter alia, interconnected technology, innovation and appropriate finance. Green technology as an engine for climate action is not just a technical roadmap – it is a political, climate and economic strategy.

Christelle Beyer, Senior Technical Advisor: Climate Finance and Capital Markets at the Presidential Climate Commission

*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOL.

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