MEL4JT – South Africa’s emerging monitoring, evaluation and learning ecosystem around a socially just transition to a stabilising climate

Background: The world is facing a polycrisis of climate and ecosystems breakdown, extreme inequality and social injustice. The South African government and social partners are focusing on the crisis through a national Just Transition Framework. Objectives: This article explores emerging South African monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems to support a just transition. It documents initial experiences and learning, which can serve as orientation to other countries setting similar visions and MEL systems. Method: The article describes and compares three of the main MEL systems for South Africa’s Just Transition; those of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE), the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) and the Just Energy Transition Project Management Unit (JET PMU) in the Presidency. Results: The DFFE system is comprehensive. The PCC has key systems at local and national levels, including the State of Climate Action Report, and reports on key problem areas, such as the initial site for decommissioning coal power plants, Komati. The JET PMU has a theory of change (TOC)-based MEL framework featuring quarterly reporting on indicators, plus reporting on core indicators by interventions, with evaluations about to start. These are examples of seeking to use ME as a transformation catalyst. Conclusion: The MEL systems are emergent, reflecting the challenges. Collectively, the evidence ecosystem features system-wide impact reporting, detailed quarterly reporting from the JET PMU against the TOC and the use of rapid evaluations. Results in the next few years will inform whether the ecosystem approach is yielding intended benefits in coherence, alignment and contributing to transformative change. Contribution: Exploring how MEL of the just transition can be implemented and whether MEL itself can be a change instrument.