Sustainability of South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts towards just transition: a bibliometric analysis

The South African government has positioned the Just Transition (JT) framework at the core of its climate and development agenda for 2030–2050. JT aims to reshape the economy to benefit most citizens while driving equitable and transformative change. This study examines the evolution of knowledge on just energy transitions in South Africa, employing a rigorous process guided by the PRISMA 2020 standards. Literature was sourced from Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCOhost, and screening was facilitated through Rayyan to ensure transparency and reduce bias. A bibliometric evaluation was conducted using VOSviewer (version 1.6.20) to map co-authorship networks and keyword co-occurrences, enabling the identification of collaboration patterns and thematic trends. Results show two predominant streams: technical decarbonisation (renewable energy, coal, and energy policy) and rising justice-oriented topics (community participation, inequality, and poverty alleviation). Although concepts of justice exist, they are disjointed and inadequately connected with techno-economic narratives, constraining the empirical foundation for inclusive policy formulation. Collaboration networks are limited, with qualitative techniques prevailing at 56.52%, hence hindering the development of standardised metrics essential for accountability in international financial agreements. In addition to bibliometric insights, systemic restrictions such as economic reliance on coal, governance difficulties, technological impediments, and social equity disparities present structural threats to sustained decarbonisation. Confronting these difficulties necessitates interdisciplinary research, methodological innovation, and governance reforms that integrate principles of justice into technical and regulatory frameworks. These findings offer practical avenues for integrating academic research with South Africa’s climate obligations and international accountability benchmarks.