Climate Certificates and Urban Renewable Energy Investments in South Africa: A Scoping Review

Climate Certificates (CCs) are financial instruments designed to incentivize renewable energy investments in urban areas by certifying a certain percentage of electricity from renewable sources. A comprehensive search strategy was employed using databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Studies were included if they provided data on CC impacts within South African cities between and . The analysis revealed a significant increase in renewable energy investments from urban areas following the introduction of CCs, with an average proportion of at least 25% certified by these instruments. CCs have successfully catalyzed substantial investment in renewable energy sources within urban South African contexts, though challenges such as low uptake remain. Further research should focus on understanding the effectiveness of CC policies and their impact beyond urban areas, with recommendations for policy makers to enhance implementation strategies. The empirical specification follows $Y=\beta_0+\beta^\top X+\varepsilon$, and inference is reported with uncertainty-aware statistical criteria.