Towards a Joint Roadmap: Advancing Collaboration and Coordination between Local Stakeholders and the United Nations to Promote a Just and Sustainable Critical Energy Transition Minerals (CETM) Supply Chain in South Africa

This project supports South Africa’s ambition to become a key global supplier of critical energy transition minerals by strengthening social dialogue, improving policy coordination, and promoting cooperation between the United Nations in South Africa and local stakeholders in the critical energy transition minerals supply chain. The growing demand for minerals is essential to renewable energy and clean technologies, which presents important opportunities for economic development, job creation and industrial upgrading. At the same time, it raises significant risks related to working conditions, environmental impacts, community well-being and unequal distribution of benefits. The project addresses these challenges by fostering coordinated and inclusive engagement to ensure that the transition is just, sustainable and socially responsive. The project strengthens collaboration and alignment between UN entities, government institutions, workers’ and employers’ organisations, and other national stakeholders to support coherent policy responses across the critical minerals value chain. It enhances the capacity of social partners and public institutions to engage meaningfully on labour, social and governance issues, and supports evidence-based dialogue on decent work, labour rights, skills development and local economic development. Particular attention is given to the perspectives of workers and affected communities, including women and vulnerable groups, whose voices are often underrepresented in decision-making processes. By promoting coordinated action, mutual understanding and policy coherence between stakeholders, the project contributes to a more inclusive and accountable approach to critical energy transition minerals that aligns economic transformation with social justice, decent work and sustainable development outcomes in South Africa.

Project symbol

ZAF/25/03/UND

Admin unit

DWT/CO-Pretoria

Start date

15/11/2025

End date

15/03/2026

Total allocation

30000

Total expenditure

Status

Active

16646

Development Partners

United Nations Development Programme

Country/Countries

South Africa

Outcomes

Outcome 4: Sustainable enterprises for inclusive growth and decent work