Improving energy access through sustainable energy choices will create jobs, not emissions, in the South African economy. Greening the country’s economy
is far more likely to benefit than to slow development, as so many believe.

Typically, energy-poor locations in South Africa are also job poor and those with no or low incomes cannot always afford monthly electricity bills. Energy poverty is due to limited access to the national electricity grid, an inability to pay, or both.

This briefing was funded by REEEP as part of the CHOICES project ‘Community and Household Options in Choosing Energy Services’ — a partnership
between OneWorld Sustainable Investments and IIED in South Africa.

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