Research presented at a seminar in Johannesburg, on Friday, suggests that a shift is needed in peoples’ view of coal as a source of energy, jobs and foreign exchange, to coal as a driver of inequality, social dislocation and environmental damage; however, this will require collaboration.

The seminar was held by the Society, Work and Politics (Swop) Institute, and was titled "A Just Transition from coal: implications for coal workers and coal-affected communities”.

The seminar examined whether an increasing resistance to coal mining and the burning of coal could drive a socially and environmentally just transition in South Africa.

University of the Witwatersrand professor Jacklyn Cock expressed the hope that the transition to other energy sources would engender a change towards a just society; however, she cautioned that there were powerful elite interests that could appropriate the movement and further it for their own interests.

She noted that while there had been resistance against coal, that resistance lacked a radical element that was needed to truly transform society. She highlighted that women play a strong role in resistance movements.

She said resistance came from three social spaces – mining-affected communities, environmental organisations and labour.

However, there were instances in certain coal mining areas where many people were opposed to the closure of coal mines, despite having clear knowledge of the relationship between coal and pollution.

She indicated that some feedback from research had showcased a perception of a reliance on coal, with many unable to envision a transition to other energy sources.

The State was also caught between promoting coal for jobs and export earnings, and pursuing the transition to cleaner energy sources.

Cock’s research indicated that, despite considerable obstacles, anti-coal initiatives had the power to build a counter story that challenged inequality and was potentially infused by visions of a different world beyond coal.

This could, through stronger connections between the three strands of resistance, merge into a vision of a just transition that was actually transformative, her research suggested.

Cock said coal workers and those living near coal mines and power stations had actually benefited the least and had been burdened the most in building the country’s carbon-intensive economy.

She posited that unless labour reclaimed its power, the country could serve as an example of an unjust transition.