In Old Coronation, Mpumalanga, an informal settlement built on the remnants of an abandoned coal mine, coal plays a significant role in residential energy creation. The State deprivation of basic services like electricity in informal settlements has created an economy around raw coal as a commodity for trading and an energy source for heating and cooking. However, as much as coal is a means to survival for residents, it’s also a precursor to infection and disease, and has a calamitous effect on the environment and climate. The global response to the climate crisis and energy challenges has seen the near demonisation of fossil fuel-powered energy and the urgency to move toward cleaner alternatives. But for informal settlements, like Old Coronation, the movement away from coal will have detrimental effects on livelihood sustainability and human survival. This begs the question: Do we save the planet for future generations or continue to destroy it for the survival of communities who rely on earth-damaging processes for survival? In this article, I delve into this question by exploring the pitfalls of the green transition with a specific look into how a “just transition” can only be just once informal settlements are afforded basic services. It further looks into Old Coronation as a dystopian representation of the effects of the minerals-energy complex and the double bind of coal-powered energy.