National Climate Change Bill

Call for comments opened 08 June 2018 Share this page:

Submissions are now closed (since 08 August 2018)

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

The Department of Environmental Affairs invites interested parties to submit written comments on the proposed draft Climate Change Bill.

 

The comments on the draft Bill must be submitted to [email protected] by no later than 8 August 2018


Further information can be obtained from Mr Tlou Ramaru at (012) 399 9252, and Ms Deborah Ramalope at (012) 399 9160.

Copies of the socio-economic impact assessment report and memorandum of objects are available at:  Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System (SEIAS) report

A Series of Provincial Stakeholder Engagement Workshops at which all stakeholders and interested parties will be able to comment on the National Climate Change Bill will be hosted by the Department countrywide. View the schedule here

The purpose of the Bill is to build an effective climate change response and ensure the long-term, just transition to a climate resilient and lower carbon economy and society.  This will be done within the context of sustainable development for South Africa, and will provide for all matters related to climate change.

The Bill acknowledges that anthropogenic climate change represents an urgent threat to human societies and the environment, and requires an effective, progressive and well-coordinated   response.  It further highlights that, amongst others, anticipated domestic climate change impacts have the potential to undermine the country’s development goals, and that responses to climate change raise unique challenges, thus requiring a legislative framework for the implementation of the country’s national climate change response.

The National Climate Change Bills addresses issues related institutional and coordination arrangement across the three spheres of government namely national, provincial and local. It further highlights the need    the spheres of government and entities, sectors as well business to respond to challenges of  climate change. The bill further address the matters relating to, the national adaptation to impacts of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and removals, and policy alignment and institutional arrangements.

The objects of the proposed Act are to:

  • Provide for the  coordinated and integrated response to climate change and its impacts by all spheres of government in accordance with the principles of cooperative governance;
  • Provide for the effective management of inevitable climate change impacts through enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change, with a view to building social, economic, and environmental resilience and an adequate national adaptation response in the context of the global climate change response;  and to
  • Make a fair contribution to the global effort to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that avoids dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system within a timeframe and in a manner that enables economic, employment, social and environmental development to proceed in a sustainable manner.