Just Us and the Climate - Climate Justice Coalition

In this episode, we explore a new legal advisory report produced for the South African BDS Coalition, examining South Africa’s obligations in relation to the continued export of coal to Israel. Sunny Morgan of the PSA South Africa hosts SA BDS Coalition's Roshan Dadoo, and lawyer and author of the report, Sirhaan Ché Khan in discussion. Grounded in international law, constitutional principles, and the lived realities of Palestinians, the conversation unpacks how decades of dispossession, occupation, and systemic violence intersect with global systems of trade and energy. We ask what it means for South Africa to move beyond symbolic solidarity, and whether economic activity, including coal exports, can amount to complicity in ongoing international crimes. The report at the centre of this discussion argues that South Africa has both the legal authority and the constitutional duty to act. It highlights how existing legislation enables the state to regulate and even prohibit exports in the public interest, raising urgent questions about accountability, coherence, and political will. As calls grow for the South African government to halt coal exports to Israel, activists argue that such trade contributes to Israel’s energy supply and, by extension, its military capacity. This episode situates that demand within a broader climate justice and global solidarity framework, where energy, law, and justice are deeply intertwined.

In this special crossover episode, Just Us and the Climate partners with Radio Workshop to bring you Just Enough Light — a story about community, resilience, and the uneven path toward South Africa’s energy transition. Before we dive into the story, host Shaazia Ebrahim speaks with Siya Mokoena, one of the reporters behind the episode. Siya shares how he got involved with Radio Workshop, what it was like to document life in Nomzamo, and the insights that emerged while telling this powerful story about hope, disappointment, and energy justice. Then, we head to Nomzamo, Mpumalanga, a community that has never had electricity, despite being surrounded by coal mines and power stations. For the past year, Siphesihle Magagula has been going door-to-door selling solar power, bringing light to nearly 400 homes. But as more lights switch on, new challenges appear. Many residents find that their solar kits can’t power fridges or TVs. What does this reveal about South Africa’s “just transition”? And will renewable energy bring true justice to the 1.6 million households still living off the grid? Just Enough Light is part of Power to Change, Radio Workshop’s award-winning series exploring South Africa’s transition from coal to renewable energy through the lives of young people in coal communities. To hear more, listen to This Coal Life, an earlier story in the series. Reported by Siya Mokoena and Dhashen Moodley.

South Africa’s water and energy crises are national emergencies — but for women in rural and township communities, these crises are daily struggles. In this special Women’s Month episode, we bring you the voices of women on the frontlines: those walking long distances to fetch water, cooking in the dark during load-shedding, keeping their families safe without public lighting, and managing households with scarce resources. Beyond survival, many of these women are also community organisers and activists: fighting for better service delivery, advocating for local solutions, and building solidarity networks in the face of state neglect. This episode features a recording of the Climate Justice Coalition’s webinar “Women on the Frontlines: Lived Realities of the Water and Energy Crises in Rural and Township South Africa.” This conversation is hosted by Francina Nkosi from the Waterberg Women’s Association, a community leader and organiser who has long been at the forefront of struggles for water and energy justice. She is joined by three of the Coalition's activists: Simpiwe Zwane from the Tembelihle Crisis Committee, Nomfundo Mkaba from Omama Bemvelo, and Lisa Makaula from the Green Connection. Together, they share their lived realities from rural and township South Africa, reflecting on the daily impacts of the water and energy crises while highlighting women’s resilience, organising, and leadership in the fight for justice.

This episode of Just Us and the Climate investigates the ongoing struggle to legalise artisanal mining in South Africa, focusing on the mining town of Stilfontein as a case study. The conversation is about how informal miners who, often vilified as illegal or criminal, are in fact survivors of economic exclusion, carrying historical knowledge and skills in a collapsing mining economy. The podcast sheds light on why formalising artisanal mining is a justice issue, both socio-economically and environmentally. It unpacks the legal vacuum and policing of informal miners, the economic and environmental impacts of unregulated mining, opportunities for regulation that prioritise people and the planet, and community-based solutions for sustainable small-scale mining.

From Plans to Power: How Communities Can Drive Change Through IDPs. In this episode of Just Us and the Climate, we unpack a powerful yet often overlooked or misunderstood tool in the fight for social and climate justice: Integrated Development Plans (IDPs). Host Ferron Pedro explores how communities can make use of these strategic local government plans to drive real, equitable change on the ground — whether it's looking at housing, tackling drought in farming towns, or launching water conservation projects. Listen to climate activist Motlatsi Makhasane talk about how to use the IDP process to demand sustainable solutions — and win. Plus, we have IDP expert Tsekiso Majake who unpacks how you can get involved, influence municipal plans, and avoid common pitfalls. Whether you're a seasoned community activist or just curious, tune in and learn how power really works — at the local level.