Category: South Africa News Brief and Action Alert

Climate change is viewed by South Africans as the top international threat to national security (ranking at 59%). During spring 2017, the US based Pew Research Center conducted a public opinion poll among 38 countries regarding eight possible threats to national security. It is evident from the graph above that climate change is viewed by...

South Africa: (1) South Africa needs to strengthen its Paris Agreement pledge; (2) Stronger implementation of the Integrated Resource Electricity Plan is needed; (3) The National Treasury should provide more clarity on the start date of the carbon tax. South Africa pledged to peak its GHG emissions by 2025, plateau for approximately a decade, and...

South Africa—NO 100% 2050 commitment Benchmark: The construction of 37.4 GW of wind capacity and 17.6 GW of solar photovoltaic capacity by 2050 The electricity sector is the highest contributor to GHG emissions in South Africa. With blackouts experienced in 2008, and more looming as a constant threat, proper planning for the country’s energy security...

South Africa—The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP) The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) is a climate change flagship program that was introduced in 2011. Jointly launched by the Department of Energy, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), and state-owned power utility Eskom, the REIPPPP aims to encourage...

South Africa—Falling Behind The South African government has not made much progress in promulgating legislation to tackle carbon emissions. Its most important policy instrument—the carbon tax—has been on the table for a decade. No date is set for its implementation. South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, is the largest CO2 emitter in the country, because it...

The Draft Carbon Tax Bill The proposal for a carbon tax in South Africa was first made in 2007. After lengthy public consultation processes and debates, the National Treasury introduced the Carbon Tax Bill in 2015. The implementation of the Bill has been delayed numerous times. It was set to come into effect during 2017,...

Severe Country-Wide Drought The current drought, which started in the summer of 2014, is the third-driest for South Africa as a whole since the early 1930s when the country was hit by a historic drought in the midst of the Great Depression. The severity of the current drought has been aggravated by an El Nino,...

Regions/Provinces/States KwaZulu-Natal—The Durban Adaptation Charter (DAC) commits Local Governments to local climate action in their jurisdiction that will assist their communities to respond to and cope with climate change risks. By signing the Durban Adaptation Charter they commit to inter alia: 1.    Key information of all local government development planning; 2.    Ensuring that adaptation strategies...

Government Official Dr. Edna Molewa Minister of Environmental Affairs The Department of Environmental Affairs, under the leadership of Minister Molewa, was the main architect of South Africa’s leading climate change policy document, the National Climate Change Response Policy White Paper, launched in 2011. Minister Molewa signed the Paris Agreement at the United Nations in New...

Research Study:  “The Long Term Mitigation Scenarios Research Project”, South Africa Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, coordinated by Professor Harold Winkler, 2005 and 2008 The Long Term Mitigation Scenarios (LTMS) Research Project took place in South Africa between 2005 and 2008. It is remembered as a ‘seminal and resounding success’, because it successfully placed...