Sustainable industrial transformation in Southern Africa depends on strong institutions, productive capabilities, innovation, learning and coordinated policy-making.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Subregional Office for Southern Africa (UN ECA SRO-SA) has called on Southern African countries to strengthen these foundations to capture opportunities emerging from the green economy, rather than remaining suppliers of raw materials.

These were the conclusions from a workshop held as part of the implementation of a United Nations Development Account Seventeenth Tranche Project.

This project supports Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe to integrate climate action into industrial development strategies to promote sustainable, inclusive and resilient economic transformation.

Specifically, the workshop was held to validate the findings and recommendations of four regional studies on Innovative Climate Action to Accelerate Green Industrialisation in Southern Africa that looked at green industrialisation, technology transfer and innovation, the circular economy and the renewable-energy transition.

The recommendations from the studies will inform country-specific policy briefs and contribute to strengthening national and regional policy frameworks that support green, inclusive and resilient industrialisation across Southern Africa.

During the review of the studies, participants from civil society, the private sector, government, academia and development partners highlighted strong synergies across the studies, and also identified national priorities to strengthen policy coherence and regional collaboration for green industrial development.

The participants agreed that green industrialisation requires an integrated approach that connects industrialisation, climate action, environmental sustainability, regional cooperation, inclusion, private sector development, research, training, finance and investment.

Governance and institutional coordination across industrial policy, innovation, trade, climate action and investment promotion must be strengthened, participants said.

Additionally, participants called for investment in productive capabilities and industrial ecosystems and the promotion of technology that built domestic capabilities.

The workshop also called for the acceleration of industrial upgrading in strategic green value chains and the adoption of strategic policy sequencing that places capability development at the centre of industrial transformation.

Further, participants called for the adoption of a private sector- and small, medium-sized and microenterprise-centred approach to support the commercialisation and adoption of green technologies, strengthen awareness and skills development, and improve access to finance and technology.

Such an approach will also promote coherent regulatory frameworks and deepen regional trade and cross-border collaboration to expand value addition and competitiveness.

Meanwhile, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Sustainability Programmes and Projects Directorate senior policy adviser Dr Jenitha Badul said South Africa was committed to advancing green industrialisation through collaboration and partnerships to build an inclusive, climate-resilient industrial future.

UN Resident Coordinator for South Africa Nelson Muffah said green industrialisation should be viewed not only as a climate agenda but as a broader development agenda capable of driving technology upgrading, economic diversification, employment creation, regional integration and inclusive growth while addressing poverty and inequality.

Business organisation National Business Initiative Climate, Energy and Water project manager Ayabulela Manjezi emphasised that achieving a just transition required strong partnerships among government, business, civil society and research institutions.

Inclusion must remain central to climate action and industrial transformation to ensure women, youth, persons with disabilities and vulnerable communities could participate meaningfully in the opportunities created by the transition, she said.

ECA SRO-SA economic affairs officer Oliver Maponga said green industrialisation presented Southern Africa with an opportunity to strengthen competitiveness, expand regional value chains and improve access to emerging global markets.

Coordinated industrial, trade, innovation and climate policies that built productive capabilities, strengthened technology transfer and positioned the region to capture greater value from the global green transition were important to achieve this, he emphasised.