In February 2013, the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the post-2015 development agenda failed to identify climate change as a priority issue (United Nations 2013). The defined framing questions for the panel’s work and the most recent announcement highlight sustainable growth with equity, wealth through management of natural resources and partnerships - but not the detrimental impact of climate change on development (Field 2013). This shortcoming is a reflection of the current discourse. Even though changing, climate change and development are still located in two different camps. Although much work has gone into bridging this gap by potentially aligning policy agendas, the challenge to achieve integration of climate and development objectives is still obvious on the ground (Rennkamp 2012). Solar water heating in South Africa is one such on-ground example which, when investigated thoroughly, presents a learning opportunity.