Just Us and the Climate - Climate Justice Coalition

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Apr 2026

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Welcome to Just Us and the Climate – a podcast by South Africa’s Climate Justice Coalition. Join us as we bring climate change back down to earth and show how it’s not only a crisis, but an opportunity to build a better, more just world.

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37 recent

April 14, 202644 min

#037 No Coal for Genocide

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. Advisory Report to DTIC on Coal Sale to Israel · South African BDS Coalition · Palestine Solidarity Alliance - South Africa · Website · Facebook · Instagram

November 3, 202542 min

#036 Radio Workshop Crossover: Just Enough Light

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. This Coal Life · To use episodes on your show, refer to Radio Workshop's toolkit · To host your own listening event, check out this guide · Website · Facebook · Instagram

September 2, 202558 min

#035 Women on the Frontlines of South Africa’s Broken Water & Energy System

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. Website · Facebook · Instagram

July 15, 202539 min

#034 Beneath the Surface: Legalising Artisanal Mining in Stilfontein

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. · MACUA and WAMUA Facebook page · MACUA X page · Website · Facebook · Instagram

April 24, 202546 min

#033 Integrated Development Planning 101

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. Website · Facebook · Instagram

February 19, 20251 hr 7 min

#032 Building Leaderfullness to Navigate the Crises Ahead

In this episode, Shaazia Ebrahim speaks to the outgoing leadership of the Climate Justice Coalition, as they reflect on the challenges, rewards, and lessons learnt from having led and grown the coalition from when it was just beginning just over five years ago. Mbali Baduza and Alex Lenferna, the outgoing and inaugural deputy and general secretary of the coalition speak about the challenges of movement building, the importance of mental health, the need to be radical, and so much more. The conversation gives open, honest, and heartfelt insights into the difficulties, rewards, and lessons of leadership, especially for younger people thrust into positions of hefty responsibility at the forefront of movements. This episode comes out just as the new leadership of the Climate Justice Coalition is taking the helm and is a useful resource to help the new leadership of the coalition, and the movement more broadly, navigate this challenging time ahead where the climate crisis intersects with so many urgent challenges. Website · Facebook · Instagram

November 19, 202448 min

#031 Plundering Limpopo's water for coal

The threat posed by coal and the MMSEZ to Limpopo's water resources. This podcast episode is incendiary, a must-listen – affording a vivid insight into what economic colonialism means, and why it’s urgent that the public exercise their democratic right to participate in fundamental decisions about how Limpopo's scarce water resources will be exploited in the future to support the planned expansion of coal mining, development of a new coal field, and a dirty, foreign-owned industrial zone. In this episode, host Robert Krause of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) a human rights organisation based at the University of Witwatersrand, explores with his guests, Mphatheleni Makaulule from Dzomo La Mupo and Lauren Liebenberg of Living Limpopo, the cultural, spiritual, ecological, and economic significance of water for the vha-Venda people of Limpopo, the potentially devastating impacts of the MMSEZ and coal mining on water resources, on biodiversity, and the profound implications of the ongoing water 'Reserve determination' process in water resource management. Living Limpopo's website · Wits Centre for Applied Legal Studies, Wits School of Law · Dzomo La Mupo, Voice of Creation · Website · Facebook · Instagram

August 19, 202424 min

#030 Unpacking People's Power

What will a People's Power movement look like in South Africa? In this episode, Francina Nkosi of the Waterberg Women's Advocacy Organisation leads a powerful discussion on the meaning and impact of People's Power. Joined by Thandi Tess Tshaka from the Botshabelo Unemployed Movement, Brighton Phiri of Nu-Climate Vision, Priyanka Naidoo from Green Connection, and Thumeka Magwangqana of the Sinethemba Women's Organisation, the panel explores what a People's Power movement could look like. The conversation is set against the backdrop of the nationwide People's Power marches in March 2024, where communities and workers across South Africa demanded clean, affordable, and reliable electricity in response to the ongoing load shedding crisis. Listen to how ordinary South Africans are uniting for change and pushing for urgent action on the country’s energy and climate crisis. Website · Facebook · Instagram

August 5, 202438 min

#029 The Story of the Coalition (So Far)

The Climate Justice Coalition (CJC) is a South African coalition of over 60 trade unions, civil society, grassroots, and community-based organisations. It is a powerful movement taking on the climate crisis by advancing a transformative climate justice agenda, which works to overcome the deep inequality, poverty and multiple injustices that South Africa faces. In this episode, CJC General Secretary Alex Lenferna and Deputy Secretary General Mbali Baduza host a live session at the May 2024 Gathering tracing the Coalition's beginnings. They engage an audience of Coalition members on how the Coalition came to be, tracking how the Coalition grew from a moment of solidarity to the force it has become today. From the various campaigns and protests, to the major shifts and changes, this is the story of the CJC. Link to the full video episode · Climate Justice Coalition website · Website · Facebook · Instagram

June 18, 20241 hr 1 min

#028 Unbundling Eskom | Trevor Shaku

Why trade unions are worried about electricity market reforms. In this episode, Trevor Shaku, the national spokesperson of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), talks to host Alex Lenferna about the major electricity market reforms underway in South Africa. The discussion revolves around South Africa's electricity future and the government's proposals for reforming the electricity sector, such as unbundling and the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill. Trevor Shaku explains SAFTU's opposition to the privatisation of the electricity sector and the unbundling of Eskom, the state-owned electricity utility. He argues that privatisation will lead to higher electricity prices, making it unaffordable for the majority of South Africans, and will prioritise profit over public interest. SAFTU advocates for a 'public pathway' approach, where Eskom remains the primary producer and provider of electricity, with a focus on transitioning to renewable energy sources through a 'Green New Eskom' initiative. Trevor highlights the risks of the government's plans, including the potential for private companies to demand guarantees and risk mitigation measures, effectively transferring risks to the government. He also criticises the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill as a legal framework for privatisation and liberalisation of the energy markets. The discussion touches on the international context, with Trevor expressing concerns about the influence of institutions like the IMF and World Bank in pushing for privatisation and the role of the Just Energy Transition Partnerships. He emphasises the need for a global movement of trade unions to resist the privatisation of energy provision and advocate for a just transition that prioritises public ownership and workers' interests. Visit the SAFTU website · Green New Eskom campaign webpage · Trade Unions for Energy Democracy website · Website · Facebook · Instagram