THE COSMOPOLITAN KAROO RESEARCH FORUM (CKRF)

DST/NRF SOUTH AFRICAN RESEARCH CHAIRS INITIATIVE (SARChI)

EVENTS
EVENTS
EVENTS

Stellenbosch University is closed for the semester break. We will resume our forums when the University reopens on Wednesday, 22 July 2026.

Ruth Bookbinder and Alex Beresford are scheduled to present on Wednesday, 22 July, from 15:00–17:00. Their presentation is titled The Crisis of Just Energy Transition in South Africa: Beyond the Reform vs. Radical Rupture Binary. The abstract follows below:

We analyse the politics of the just transition (JT) in South Africa, situating current impasses within the deeper contradictions of post-apartheid transformation. Dominant JT debates often frame labour agency as torn between reformist, worker-protective demands and more radical social-ecological transformation. Drawing on interviews with policymakers, climate NGOs and trade-union leaders, alongside focus groups with workers in affected sectors, we challenge portrayals of fossil-sector unions as inherently obstructionist or defenders of the status quo. By re-centring workers’ and unions’ perspectives within decarbonisation processes, we show how and why climate delay is strategically justified as a means of managing structural insecurity. Productive delay in climate action can create political space to negotiate how immediate reformist goals—jobs, training, health and energy security—might be pursued alongside, and through, demands for transformative and globally just transitions.

Venue: Online. The Teams link is available here.

The second presenter is Prof. Johann Kirsten, who is scheduled to present on Thursday, 23 July, from 15:00–17:00. Prof. Kirsten will discuss A Snapshot of Agriculture in the Karoo: Trends and Economic Realities. The paper will provide a detailed overview of agricultural activity in the Karoo region and establish a concise profile of agriculture in the region, set against the background of long-term trends in climate, production, and the economics of wool and lamb production.

Venue: Online. The Teams link is available here.