We are a growing community uniting for a more prosperous future for all South Africans by catalysing support for safer, cleaner and cheaper energy where no one is left behind.
FOR LIFE, BEYOND FOSSIL FUELS
·
FOR LIFE, BEYOND FOSSIL FUELS ·
WElcome to FFSA
Welcome to Fossil Free South Africa! South Africans want climate action but lack deep understanding of the full impacts of fossil fuels and the opportunities of transition and transformation. Few South Africans understand the urgency of determined climate action. As the world teeters between the dying fossil fuel era and an era of climate chaos, South Africa remains in thrall to the “fossil fuels drive development” myth. A key African BRICS economy, SA has a big influence on other African countries and remains excessively fossil fuel-dependent. Few South Africans clearly link climate change to the fossil fuel industry or understand the risks climate change poses to our society and their savings. Despite strong climate policies and international commitments, South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Petroleum operates without restraint. Climate policies implemented without broad public support can backfire or be undermined, as we now see in the US or EU.
What do we want? A democratic energy system for South Africa.
An energy system that is:
Mostly renewable, community-led and owned
Human rights- and rule-of-law based
Science- and evidence-based
Able to provide greater economic equality and decentralisation
Able to build resilience
SA Constitution (Ch. 2, 24): All have the right: "to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being" "to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations"
We need to build climate leadership and challenge the social licence for fossil fuels to enable stronger support for a human-rights based just transition and energy democracy.
How are we trying to make that happen?
1. Mobilising citizen investors to demand
ethical financial services and hold asset manager,
big polluters, and banks to account
The finance sector has a disproportionately large influence on the social license of companies like fossil fuels, as well as on the cost of capital and ability for extractive companies to do business. Our Future We Want campaign is working to catalyse climate action through finance advocacy. We engage financial institutions and citizen investors to help shift the social licence and flow of capital away from fossil fuels and towards energy democracy in South Africa. Our tactics include shareholder activism and engagement with asset managers, popular education and tool building for citizen investors and shareholders, as well as public awareness. We’ve also helped set up one low carbon fund in South Africa, and it’s performed well for over three years.
2. Building affected-community support against
greenwashing and challenging fossil fuel advertising
as a proxy for challenging the industry’s social licence
The fossil fuel industry relies on PR and advertising for its continued social licence to operate. Our Fossil Ad Ban campaign works towards municipal, regional and national bans on fossil fuel advertising, while growing grassroots awareness on the material impacts of fossil fuels and greenwashing. Our tactics include community mobilisation through strategic partnerships, AdBan advocacy seeking formal endorsements for a ban on fossil fuel advertising from the municipal government, strategic use of regulatory complaints as accountability tools, as well as research, reports, and media. Our campaign has been backed by more than 15 organisations, and public figures Zackie Achmat and Kumi Naidoo.
3. Mobilising university students as climate leaders
to hold universities to account
We are building student and academic support for universities to lead publicly on climate action that supports a human-rights based Just Transition. What started out as a divestment movement that led the University of Cape Town to commit to stop investing in fossil fuels has grown into a broader campus climate movement of which divestment is only one part. Our tactics include institutional engagement for climate leadership and divestment, investigative research into fossil fuel influences in universities (read our preliminary report here), and student engagements. We work closely with student organisations at the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University, and we’re reigniting our work at the University of the Western Cape, University of Johannesburg and the University of the Witwatersrand.
4. Developing resources to build public support
for climate action and a Just Transition to renewables
We create resources and strategic media to explain and share our vision. This includes:
Our Planet A Investment Guide, that helps build climate awareness amongst South Africans by providing more ethical and sustainable investments and fossil fuel divestment for citizens who want a liveable planet and healthy society. The latest edition is from October
2024, and comes with a handbook.
Our Climate Reporting Guide, that fosters greater climate literacy amongst South African journalists and communicators. Our landmar Guide has inspired funders to commission new editions for Mozambique and Africa, and has been heralded as the ” go-to place for any SA journalist reporting on climate” by one of South Africa’s top science journalists.
Our newest resource, Climate Hope, which aims to democratise information about the climate crisis and tackle climate misinformation, giving reputable, science-based evidence.
For more resources, check out our resources page here.
4. Empowering journalists and content creators
to responsibly report on the climate emergency
We have recently launched our Climate Media Lab to support South African journalists and influencers to produce more evidence-based stories on climate, with a focus on community newspaper and broadcast journalists. The core of the programme is the mentorship of our fellows by three highly experienced climate journalists. We also hold monthly seminars on climate issues and distribute a monthly newsletter for Climate Media Lab fellows and other journalists, called Climate Beat SA.
CONTACT
