Is a Just Transition Possible?

Like death and taxes, mine closure is an eventual certainty. Mines can close for several reasons, but most often simply because of their inherently finite nature. In Emalahleni, coal mines are closing partly because of the phasing out of old and uncompetitive coal-driven power plants but particularly because of global pressure to use a cleaner energy source. The demand for South African export coal will fall away as countries move towards renewable energy (Simelane and Abdel-Rahman, 2011). But there is a dark side to the bright new energy story: workers in the doomed mines and power plants will lose their