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energy transitionlatest news & developments
As demand for copper, cobalt and other minerals needed for electric vehicles and renewable energy surges, a new report warns that allegations of human rights abuses linked to mining in Africa are rising even faster

Africa bears growing human cost of the world's rush for critical minerals

A new report by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre reveals that allegations of human rights abuses linked to transition mineral mining in Africa more than doubled in…

The solar panels are going up. The wind farms are being commissioned. The investment is flowing. The problem? The wires to carry all that electricity don't exist yet and the unit deciding who gets access to them still sits inside the organisation most conflicted by the answer

Africa's clean energy future is stuck in grid traffic

South Africa, rich in solar and wind resources with billions ready for investment, faces a critical bottleneck: a severe lack of power lines and an opaque grid access queue. This…

The final meeting ahead of the Africa Forward Summit which takes place in Nairobi, Kenya. (@ForeignOfficeKE/X)

From summits to substance: Europe’s chance to meet Africa on its terms

The clustering of Africa summits in 2026 is not coincidental. It reflects a continent whose geopolitical and economic weight is growing and whose governments are increasingly…

Injustice: Despite the mining sector’s profitability, host communities see less than 1% of corporate profits.
Photo: Chris Louw/Centre for Environmental Rights

Minerals boom but benefits bypass communities

South Africa is positioning itself as a key player in the global race for critical minerals but new research and warnings suggest those closest to extraction might lose out,…

Alternatives: As businesses and wealthier households increasingly turn to rooftop solar and private
generation, municipalities are being left with shrinking revenue bases . Photo: File

SA’s municipal power supply goes downhill

As struggling municipalities face shrinking income and mounting debt, innovative renewable energy models are aiming to stabilise costs and secure power systems

President Cyril Ramaphosa. (GCIS)

Climate change an existential threat, Ramaphosa says

President calls for urgent action to move South Africa’s just energy transition from commitment to delivery at the inaugural meeting of the reconstituted Presidential Climate…

Ramaphosa said the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan has attracted about R250 billion in international pledges for large-scale manufacturing, infrastructure and skills development.

Ramaphosa pledges green growth, energy reform

The focus is on manufacturing green products for global markets and modernising the country’s power system, the president says

Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe (Delwyn Verasamy, M&G)

Global rush for critical minerals puts African countries at risk, Mantashe warns

Geopolitical rivalries over minerals are intensifying, placing Africa’s resource-rich countries under pressure, the minister told delegates at the mining indaba

Life president: NRM Presidential Candidate Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, together with the First Lady Maama
Janet Museveni, arrive at Buziga Islamic School grounds, Makindye Division, to kick off election campaigns.
Photo: National Resistance Movement

Africa 2026: polls sans choice, jobs

In addition, some of the continent’s wars show little sign of resolution

In 2024, global coal consumption reached a record high, with commercial banks investing more than $130 billion across Asia, the US and Europe.. (Paul Botes)

Coal lobby urges ‘fair’ funding as civil society warns against false claims

Mike Teke, of FutureCoal, has written an open letter to global financial leaders urging them not to turn their backs on coal

South Africa’s push for a permanent Y20 council met strong resistance, exposing divisions on climate, gender and technology and leaving the forum without a final communiqué

G20’s youth forum split over wording and accountability structure

For the first time in 14 years, the G20 youth engagement group (Y20) closed its summit last week without issuing a communiqué — the set of recommendations that usually feeds into…

The energy transition itself carries human rights risks. If clean energy is built on compromised rights, it will not be sustainable in the long term. Photo: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Clean energy must extend beyond megawatts and minerals

Renewable does not always mean responsible, which is why business and human rights needs to be at the heart of Africa’s energy future

Women and children work at an artisanal cobalt mine in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: Augustin Wamenya/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

South Africa’s G20 presidency must rewire the global race for critical minerals

It must champion a new global compact on critical minerals, one that prioritizes beneficiation, environmental protection, fair labour and development justice.

(File photo by Tafadzwa Ufumeli/Getty Images)

Global mining conflicts surge, posing threat to clean energy transition

Conflicts over mineral mining, including copper and lithium, are rising, threatening billions in investments and slowing the clean energy transition, a new study finds

The migration to renewable energy is gaining momentum but there is a shortage of storage facilities. Photo: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Africa’s renewable energy takes off: But where is the storage?

Through investment in technologies and expertise, proper regulations and collaboration between African governments and other actors, the continent can embark on a solid energy…

A new case study proposes that, as part of the country’s energy transition, mining-affected communities, like those in Sekhukhune, set up solar farms through cooperatives to generate electricity for their own use.

A new currency backed by minerals? Africa is gambling on its energy transition

The continent must use energy minerals for its development rather than feeding them to industrialised countries

Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe.(Rodger Bosch/AFP)

No minerals for the US if aid is cut, Gwede Mantashe threatens

The mineral and petroleum resources minister also told the mining indaba that the African continent must take charge of its mineral wealth

The mining industry has the potential to grow if there is more investment in exploration projects. (Michele Spatari/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Confluence of geopolitics, energy and trade can drive change in Africa’s mining industry

The theme of the February 2025 Mining Indaba, Futureproofing Mining Today, underscores the urgency of aligning policy, investment and local development to secure sustainable growth

Enlit Africa 2025 – switched on to the power, energy and water sector

Enlit Africa, the continent’s pivotal annual gathering for the power, energy and water sector, is returning to Cape Town from 20-22 May 2025 at the Cape Town International…

US Pesident Donald Trump. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump’s return to power sparks uncertainty over US climate commitments

South Africa and other developing nations are pushing for a $1 trillion climate finance target