Budget Justice

Campaign Contents

Introduction

SECTION27 is a founding member of the Climate Justice Coalition (CJC), The young and ever-growing coalition has launched these new projects including:

#GreenNewEskom campaign, calling for a rapid and just transition to a more socially owned, renewable energy powered economy.

As part of the CJC’s Just Recovery from COVID-19 campaign, the Climate Justice Coalition launched a report researched by the Institute for Economic Justice, titled “No going back to normal: Imagining a just recovery in South Africa” on 16 July 2020.

Just Us and the Climate

On 12 October 2020, the CJC launched the “Just Us and the Climate” podcast, which boldly centres the climate crisis in public interest discourse. SECTION27 hosted two episodes this season, the introductory episode and an episode on the impact of climate change on education in the South African context

REPORT: Climate Change as a Human Rights Risk: A Resource for Health and Education Rights Activists in South Africa

In June 2024, SECTION27 released a new report titled, “Climate Change as a Human Rights Risk: A Resource for Health and Education Rights Activists in South Africa.” The report focuses on the impact of climate change on children’s access to healthcare and basic education. It explores the current state of children’s rights in the context of climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts and examines policies aimed at protecting children’s rights in a changing climate.

Climate Justice Convenings

On 28 and 29 February 2024, SECTION27 hosted a convening of public interest law organisations, social movements, community-based organisations, youth organisations and activist academics to unpack the climate crisis and its impact on socio-economic rights. The conference was organised with three key outcomes in mind, namely:

Increasing collaboration between organisations in the sector regarding climate justice;
Co-creating a plan of action to address the vulnerabilities of the respective sectors
Increasing participants’ knowledge and awareness of the threat of climate change to the health and education sectors;

In 2025, SECTION27 hosted a second convening aimed at collaboration and gathering insights from all participants, creating a space where we can work together to find solutions together. The roundtable, titled “Lessons in Overcoming Barriers in Climate in Health and Education,” was designed to share knowledge among organisations and advocates working at the intersection of climate, health, and education.

#CancelCoal

SECTION27 represented the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA) in an amicus intervention in the groundbreaking constitutional case that sought to set aside the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy’s decision, which the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) concurred to, to procure 1 500 MW of new coal-fired power as stipulated in the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

The application was launched in the Gauteng North High Court by the African Climate Alliance, Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action and the groundWork Trust, represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights against the Minister, NERSA and others. The application objected to the Minister’s decision on the basis that the Minister and NERSA failed to consider the adverse impact of the procurement of new coal-fired energy on various constitutional rights.

VEJA represented by SECTION27 was admitted as a friend of the court in the matter. VEJA’s submissions sought to support the applicants’ case and to highlight the intersectional discrimination faced by its members who are extensively affected by air pollution in the Vaal Triangle.

REPORT: Learning Brief: Opportunities and Constraints in Integrating Climate Justice in Health and Basic Education using an Advocacy Agenda & Climate Justice toolkit

Opinion pieces

UN General Comment provides a normative framework for climate justice for South Africa’s children

Poor infrastructure imperils KZN pupils’ right to education amid climate catastrophes