Based on a special issue in the Journal "Anthropology Southern Africa", this panel brings together scholars whose work aligns under the broader theme of the "Just Transition" (JT) in Southern Africa. While the JT has roused the interests of groups across the region, we explore what forms of analysis, exploitation and transformation occur in the shadow of this monolithic project. Located in sites where the transition is yet to, or has already begun to take place, the papers in this panel provide empirical case studies that challenge the simplistic narrative of the JT being a simple transition from "dirty" energy and infrastructure, to "cleaner" forms. This panel highlights the strength of localised ethnographic research in a time where grand narratives of climate crisis and transition become ubiquitous.