Abstract
Governance is an integral part of achieving sustainability in an energy transition. However, there is a shortage of literature on governance as a sustainability dimension in the energy transitions of countries in Sub Saharan Africa. This study addresses this shortage by reviewing literature on South Africa’s energy transition, identifying governance sustainability goals and presenting a detailed discussion on their roles and contribution in achieving sustainability. The literature review is guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and an Inductive Content Analysis. A total of 40 goals related to embedded informal governance, governing paradigm, and governing institutions are identified. Collectively, these goals are responsible for addressing historical and contextual issues in the energy system and aligning decision making to the sustainability goals of the energy transition. Thus, making the energy transition more practical and connected to a country’s context. Individually, governing institution goals form the bridge between embedded informal governance and the governing paradigm, and between governance and other sustainability dimensions. This means that governing institutions such as policies and regulations create an enabling environment for the energy system to transition and are the most important aspect of achieving sustainability.