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12-month Just Energy Transition Partnership leaders’ update 2025

This report provides a 12-month update to the leaders of the South Africa Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

From:
British Consulate-General Cape Town and British High Commission Pretoria
Published
9 December 2025

The collective JET pledges by the International Partners Group (IPG) members now stands at $10bn while other bilateral JET pledges mobilised to date lifts this sum to $12.4bn, and pledges from multi-lateral development banks (MDBs) brings the total to $13.7bn.

The IPG members are the United Kingdom (Chair), Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany and the Netherlands. The United States withdrew from the JETP on 28 February 2025, cancelling the unallocated balance of its pledge of $56m in grant funding and its potential $1bn in commercial investments. The remaining partners have since publicly reaffirmed their commitment to the JETP.

The 2025 12-month update follows previous leaders’ updates: 

  • 2022 mid-year update here
  • 2022 end of year update here
  • 2023 12-month update here
  • 2024 12-month update here.

Policy developments and progress in 2025

  1. The South African Government have expressed continued commitment to their just energy transition. The Electricity Regulation Amendment Act came into force on 1 January 2025. President Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) (6 February 2025) emphasised the importance of market reform, generation competition and creating ringfenced utilities in municipalities. The Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE) became its own department as of April 2025. Minister Ramokgopa’s budget statement (9 July 2025) focussed on energy access, resolving municipal distribution issues, and the price of energy. South Africa’s G20 Presidency has provided the opportunity to reinforce South Africa’s key messaging around decarbonising in a just way and ensuring energy access as a priority.
  2. The National Electricity Crisis Committee (NECOM) and the Energy Council of South Africa have set a date of April 2026 for the launch of the South African Wholesale Electricity Market (SAWEM). Progress has been made on the rules, codes, standards and secondary legislation needed and the market capacity is being built. On 27 November 2025 the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) approved the granting of a Market Operator licence to the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) alongside new Grid Capacity Allocation Rules to facilitate fair and non-discriminatory access to the network.
  3. In addition, NERSA approved the appointment of a 14-member Electricity Market Advisory Forum (EMAF) which will advise the regulator on the finalisation of the regulatory instruments and ensure readiness amongst stakeholders as the market evolves.  The NTCSA is delivering the oversubscribed SAWEM school. Further work is needed to unbundle the Eskom divisions; finetune the market code; finalise the wholesale market tariff rules and trading rules; and agree vesting contracts with each coal plant.
  4. NERSA has issued ten electricity trading licences. A challenge brought by Eskom to the High Court on five of these licences has been temporarily suspended, with Eskom joining the working groups and participating in the development of the SAWEM trading rules.
  5. The Transmission Development Plan outlines the need to construct more than 14,000km of transmission lines over the next decade. Minister Ramokgopa launched a Request for Qualification and draft regulations for private sector Independent Transmission Projects (ITPs) for 1,164km of transmission lines in July 2025. This is being supported by the establishment of a Credit Guarantee Vehicle (CGV), with World Bank backing, to mobilise private capital by de-risking projects. The CGV is expected to be ready to de-risk the first phase of ITP procurement by mid-2026, with planned annual ITP windows thereafter, and the potential for expansion to support the delivery of other infrastructure projects in the future.
  6. Cabinet approved the 2025 Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) in October 2025. The document outlines the planned allocation of South Africa’s primary energy resources. Key allocations in the plan leading up to 2030 include 10,313MW of solar PV; 7,341MW of wind energy and 6,000MW of gas to power, as well as 5,200 MW of new nuclear capacity by 2039.
  7. After being delayed by US objections, South Africa’s updated Accelerating Coal Transition Investment Plan (ACT IP) was approved by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Trust Fund Committee in June 2025. Efforts are underway to finalise the programme of activities and pave the way for expedited ACT implementation. Implementation of South Africa’s Updated ACT IP will be overseen by the ACT IP Governing Committee.
  8. Eskom’s stability and performance have continued to show a positive trajectory. In September 2025, the utility announced its first return to profitability since FY2017. However, municipal debt continues to threaten Eskom’s financial sustainability. Both Eskom and the South African Government are trialling and prioritising various measures to improve municipal distribution infrastructure across the country.
  9. Following the signing of the Climate Change Act last year, South Africa consulted on phase two of its carbon tax arrangements in Nov-Dec 2024. Minister George approved publication of the draft National Greenhouse Gas Carbon Budget and Mitigation Plan Regulations for public comment in July 2025.
  10. South Africa submitted its revised NDC for 2035 in October 2025, with a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target range of 320-380 MtCO₂e by 2035. This was higher than the range recommended by the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC).
  11. The JET PMU have developed their indicator framework and are working to implement the full Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning framework including testing, exploring data sources and establishing baselines. The JET PMU continue to produce quarterly progress reports on JET implementation here.
  12. The JET PMU’s Funding Platform (FP) – to match JET projects with JET grants – is operational and proactively matching JET-aligned projects with grant funding.
  13. The JET PMU have added IPG investments to the evolving international finance register here. This continues to be updated quarterly to expand it, with the aim of mapping all investment finance deployed for the JET in South Africa.
  14. Work continues to institutionalise the JET portfolios within the South African Government, with lead departments identified:

  • in the Electricity Portfolio, transmission investments are being driven by the Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE), Eskom, and the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA); and the ACT Programme is being coordinated by a multi-stakeholder structure led by the JET PMU. Wholesale energy market reform activities are being implemented by DEE, with NECOM continuing to provide oversight and with regulatory reform being implemented by NERSA.

  • the JET Municipal Portfolio’s JET Municipal Council has been established, led by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), with three workstreams on distribution infrastructure, energy access, and capability building.
  • the Green Hydrogen (GH2) and New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) Portfolios, both led by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), each have a dedicated JET Programme Management Office with multi-stakeholder structures and defined workstreams.
  • in the JET Skills Portfolio, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) launched its JET Skills Desk in August 2025, while the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC), has convened the multi-stakeholder JET Skills Advisory Forum.
  • for the Mpumalanga Province JET Portfolio, the Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency (MGCA) is the Secretariat to the Mpumalanga Provincial Government’s JET and Climate Change Coordinating Committee and multi-stakeholder JET Forum.

Looking ahead to 2026

  1. The JETP has had a tangible impact in terms of supporting the enabling environment for transition, crowding in finance and unblocking financial flows, and sustaining political momentum for South Africa’s JET at many levels. This has contributed to the delivery of target outcomes. It has demonstrated both the challenges and opportunities in transitioning energy systems in emerging economies.
  2. It is now clear that South Africa will not meet the high ambition target of its 2030 NDC. There remains a credible pathway to remaining within the 2030 target range if mitigation measures are accelerated, and the PCC and the DFFE have expressed confidence that South Africa will meet the lower ambition target of 420 MtCO₂e by 2030. The recently published target range of 320-380 MtCO₂e by 2035 suggests that the JET must be accelerated to enhance emissions reduction.
  3. Nonetheless, the progress on energy sector reforms, increase in renewable energy investment, plans for private sector investment in transmission and the resolve to improve distribution infrastructure all show that South Africa’s JET continues on a positive trajectory.
  4. JETPs represent a pioneering model of country-led clean energy transition support, that could now be considered a ‘first-generation country platform’. Such platforms typically seek to align domestic policies and international and private finance in support of a nation’s climate action, and are gaining momentum. As we enter 2026, partners will look to maintain focus on the effective delivery of initiatives.
  5. In parallel, we will also reflect on the progress in implementing South Africa’s JET Implementation Plan so far and collate learnings which may prove useful for other JETP countries, help inform the way forward after 2026 and inform the future generation of country platforms in the energy sector and beyond.
  6. The JET PMU will be initiating an evaluation of JET implementation in 2026, which will be undertaken collaboratively with the IPG and other stakeholders.
  7. Support from the IPG for South Africa’s JET remains strong and the IPG and South Africa reiterate their commitment to work in partnership to achieve the objectives set out in the JETP Political Declaration of 2021, the JET Investment Plan of 2022, and the JET Implementation Plan of 2023.  In the current uncertain geopolitical context, it remains vital to support the just energy transition, including its social dimensions, with key partners such as South Africa.

Updates to this page

Published 9 December 2025