THERE SHALL BE WORK
XHANTI PAYI: Charity is not justice
A ‘just transition’ to clean energy shouldn’t leave developing nations behind. Doing so will simply increase inequality within and between nations
"Charity is no substitute for justice. If we never challenge a social order that allows some to accumulate wealth … while others are short-changed, then even acts of kindness end up supporting unjust arrangements. We must never ignore the injustices that make charity necessary, or the inequalities that make it possible."
I was reminded of these words — US academic Michael Eric Dyson’s reflection on the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — when I read a statement from the presidency this week. It said SA’s partners, including the US, UK and the EU, have agreed on "$8.5bn over the next three to five years through a range of instruments ... to support the implementation of our revised nationally determined contribution [SA’s climate action plan] through a just transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy". This funding is meant to "accelerate investment in renewable energy and the development of new sectors such as electric vehicles and green hydrogen"...
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