- The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, has approved the publication of the draft National Greenhouse Gas Carbon Budget and Mitigation Plan Regulations for public comment, advancing South Africa’s climate change response.
- These Regulations, accompanied by the declaration of the List of Greenhouse Gases and Activities and associated Technical Guidelines, align with the Climate Change Act, 2024, and sup-port South Africa’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.
- Developed through extensive stakeholder and inter-governmental consultations, this mile-stone reinforces the nation’s commitment to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.
The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, has approved the publi-cation of the draft National Greenhouse Gas Carbon Budget and Mitigation Plan Regulations, alongside the declaration of the List of Greenhouse Gases and Activities and associated Technical Guidelines, for public comment. This significant step follows a comprehensive and inclusive consul-tation process, aligning with South Africa’s commitments under the Climate Change Act, 2024 (Act No. 22 of 2024).
The draft Regulations, developed by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), aim to support the implementation of sections 26 and 27 of the Climate Change Act. These sections empower the Minister to establish a list of greenhouse gases and activities contributing to climate change, allocate carbon budgets to significant emitters, and mandate the submission of greenhouse gas mitigation plans. The Regulations will facilitate South Africa’s transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy while ensuring compliance with international obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement.
The approval follows a robust stakeholder engagement process, including workshops and consul-tations with various stakeholders ranging from civil society, labour, business, academia including climate change mitigation and transparency practitioners. The draft Regulations and Technical Guidelines were further refined through inter-governmental processes.
Dr George emphasised the importance of this milestone: “These draft Regulations mark a critical step in South Africa’s journey towards a sustainable, low-carbon future. By setting clear carbon budgets and mitigation plans, we are ensuring that our nation meets its climate commitments while fostering economic growth and social equity. I encourage all stakeholders to engage with the public comment process to shape these vital regulations.”
The public notices will be published in at least one national newspaper, with Government Notices appearing in the Government Gazette. Letters have also been dispatched to Cabinet members, Members of the Executive Council (MECs), the Chairperson of the South African Local Government Association, and the Chairperson of the Presidential Climate Commission, ensuring broad consulta-tion in line with sections 31 and 32 of the Climate Change Act.
The DFFE invites all interested parties to submit comments when the draft Regulations and Tech-nical Guidelines are published in early August. The Guidelines are designed to enhance South Afri-ca’s climate change response and support the nation’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to limit greenhouse gas emissions to between 350 and 420 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Thobile Zulu-Molobi
Cell: +27 82 513 7154
E-mail: tmolobi@dffe.gov.za
Chelsey Wilken
Cell: 074 470 5996
E-mail: cwilken@dffe.gov.za
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