Clean coal technologies as transitional buffers in South Africa’s just energy transition: Safeguarding livelihood amid decarbonisation

South Africa’s heavy dependence on coal, which supplies more than 85% of electricity generation and sustains over 90,000 direct mining jobs, places the country at the centre of the global challenge of reconciling decarbonisation with socioeconomic stability. This paper critically examines the role of Clean Coal Technologies (CCTs) as transitional buffers within South Africa’s Just Energy Transition (JET) framework. Using comparative case studies from China, the United States, India, and Australia, and integrating techno-economic indicators, lifecycle emissions, and employment metrics, the analysis evaluates the extent to which CCTs can moderate job losses while reducing carbon intensity. The technologies assessed include amine-based carbon capture (efficiency loss of approximately 9.5 percentage points and costs around USD 61/tCO₂), calcium looping (efficiency penalty of about 6.7–7.9%), and coal-to-hydrogen hybrid systems achieving up to 90% CO₂ removal under specific configurations. The results indicate that although CCTs can deliver short-term emissions reductions and employment continuity, their contribution is constrained by high retrofit costs (USD 500–1,200/kW), partial decarbonisation, and limited scalability. Renewable energy pathways, by comparison, offer higher employment multipliers, lower levelised costs of electricity, and substantial environmental and health co-benefits, but require extensive reskilling and institutional reform. The study concludes that CCTs may serve a strictly time-bound strategic role in coal-dependent regions such as Mpumalanga and Limpopo, provided they are embedded within explicit exit strategies and complemented by investments in workforce transition, decentralised renewables, and economic diversification.