To respond to the global crisis caused by climate change, South Africa is embarking on a Just Transition towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. The transition is premised on a decarbonisation process undertaken through a Just Energy Transition (JET). At the core of this study lies the following question: what are the opportunities and challenges for coal communities in a Just Transition? Given the complex context within which the Just Transition is unfolding, the study argues that a Just Transition is only possible (and can only be truly just) if it ensures wide-reaching societal welfare for communities in the coalfields. The study deployed an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, consisting of Dependency Theory, Socio-technical Transition Theory with a specific focus on the Multi-level Perspective (MLP), Political Ecology and environmental justice. The study also deployed qualitative research methodologies to solicit data to respond to the research question. This included the use of participatory observation to gather data at the national level through different dialogues, stakeholder engagements and other relevant platforms, as well as semi-structured interviews to gather data at the level of coal communities. The findings point to an unfolding Just Transition characterised by non-linearity and the presence of multiple actors with vested capitalist and political interests, unfolding in a complex political and socio-economic context. The opportunities documented include the promise of an alternative economic path that seeks to reset and correct the current economic context; prospects for environmental justice premised on distributive, procedural and restorative justice; and a shift towards a post-coal landscape with opportunities for the empowerment of affected and dependent communities. The study has also documented challenges such as navigating a contested transition; a disruption of the current economy, which may translate into job losses and lost livelihoods; the displacement of families through a new migrant labour system; capacity issues at the local government level; and inconsistencies at the national level, which make it difficult to determine the Just Transition Trajectory. The study makes a significant contribution through its use of a multi-disciplinary theoretical framework to study the Just Transition; a comprehensive and decolonial environmental justice framework that merges the radical environmental justice framework with decolonial epistemologies, political ecology, social justice, and cognitive justice, as a suitable framework for achieving a truly just transition; and its engaged scholarship-informed methodology in which coal communities became co-creators of knowledge.

Keywords: Just Transition; Just Energy Transition; Climate change; Low-carbon economy; Climate-resilient economy; Coal communities; Environmental justice; Alternative economy; Energy model; Coal phase-out; Power dynamics