ATC130510: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs relating to numerous public hearings dealing with matters pertaining to climate change, including the Climate Change Green Paper during February 2011, The Climate Change White Paper During November 2012 and the implementation of the climate Change White Paper during June and November 2012, dated 7 November 2012

Water and Sanitation

REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS RELATING TO NUMEROUS PUBLIC HEARINGS DEALING WITH MATTERS PERTAINING TO CLIMATE CHANGE, INCLUDING THE CLIMATE CHANGE GREEN PAPER DURING FEBRUARY 2011, THE CLIMATE CHANGE WHITE PAPER DUR

REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS RELATING TO NUMEROUS PUBLIC HEARINGS DEALING WITH MATTERS PERTAINING TO CLIMATE CHANGE, INCLUDING THE CLIMATE CHANGE GREEN PAPER DURING FEBRUARY 2011, THE CLIMATE CHANGE WHITE PAPER DURING NOVEMBER 2012 AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE WHITE PAPER DURING JUNE AND NOVEMBER 2012, DATED 7 NOVEMBER 2012

1. Introduction

For the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs (the Portfolio Committee) and the environmental sector family, the year 2011, will always be remembered as the “Year of Climate Change”. This was the year, firstly, that a six year long policy formulating process relating to all aspects of our response to Climate Change, culminated in a Green Paper and then a White Paper on Climate Change, being adopted by Cabinet and then processed through Parliament; and, then, secondly, South Africa successfully hosted the international Climate Change negotiations, in the form of the 17 th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (COP17/CMP7), in Durban, in December 2011 (COP17 gathering), and against the expectations of many, managed the COP17 gathering in such a manner as to achieve a highly successful outcome, creating a new political international environment, which potentially contains less of the challenges bedevilling negotiations than PRIOR to Durban, thereby opening up new opportunities for the future international negotiations on Climate Change.

Thus, against the above background, during 2011 and 2012, the Portfolio Committee, held three sets of public hearings relating to the formulation of the National Climate Change Response Policy for South Africa and also on the implementation of that policy once it became the national policy of the Government of South Africa.

1.1. PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE GREEN PAPER ON CLIMATE CHANGE

The first of those public hearings was conducted on the National Climate Change Response Policy Green Paper of 2010 (the Green Paper) that was released for written comment by Minister Edna Molewa, M.P., the Minister of Environmental Affairs (the Minister), in Government Gazette (No. 33801, Notice 1083 of 2010), dated 25 November 2010. The Portfolio Committee invited all interested stakeholders to submit written comment on the Green Paper to Parliament. Forty-five submissions were received, mainly from civil society and business interests. The public hearings were conducted over a six-day period and the strategic inputs from those public hearings mainly constituted the Portfolio Committee’s recommendations that contributed to the contents of a draft White Paper on Climate Change.

The Portfolio Committee opined during the public hearings that South Africa ’s energy system, from generation to end-use in every sector, could become completely unrecognizable, by 2050, with the enormous untapped potential of renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements. The Portfolio Committee noted that the energy generation landscape of the country could even change in the next 20 years, if renewable energies and energy efficiency improvements are employed simultaneously. Electricity grids, which are currently powered almost exclusively by coal and nuclear energy sources, could increasingly become the domain of modular solar and wind energy. Many people currently without access to electricity, especially in rural areas far from the existing grid, could be provided with access to power not by extension of the existing grid, but through decentralised generation that takes advantage of local resources, whether they are sunlight, wind, water, agricultural or industrial waste, or any combination of the above. Accordingly, the Portfolio Committee saw the need for a National Climate Change Response Policy to mobilise South Africans to embrace and implement the development of efficient, sustainable energy systems, based on renewable energy and smart grid technology, not only as an environmental necessity, but also as a social and economic imperative. Therefore, the Portfolio Committee was of the view that the Green Paper, as the South African Government’s first policy proposal for dealing with the cross-cutting impacts of Climate Change, should propose innovative and appropriate policies, based on concise roadmaps that would move the nation away from coal and fossil fuels faster, noting that changing ecosystems and landscapes, biodiversity losses, the surge in diseases, and food and water shortages, could lead to economic and welfare losses on an unprecedented scale should Climate Change remain largely unabated.

This led the Portfolio Committee to highlight the necessity for l ow-carbon and Climate Change resilient growth for our country, opining that those countries that could produce energy cleanly and use it most efficiently will in all probability dominate the global economy in this century. Such countries are also more likely to weather any economic crisis better than those who have not embraced new technologies. They will also be better protected from the future inevitable surges in fuel prices.

After thorough deliberations on the Green Paper, the Portfolio Committee made the following recommendations for consideration and inclusion in a National Climate Change Response Policy White Paper for South Africa (the White Paper). The Portfolio Committee was of the view that the future White Paper on Climate change should:

· Encourage the holistic valuation of the benefits and costs of environmental sustainability in development planning, thereby effectively communicating that ecosystems underpin the South African economy and not vice versa ;

· Provide for an optimal mix of energy, with the aim of quickly moving away from coal (the most polluting energy carrier) and fossil fuels, to cleaner fuel sources;

· Have a focused approach to mitigation, including quantifiable carbon emission targets for the country and for specific sectors or industries. We need to be precise and specific on the targets we set and which we need to achieve, as a nation;

· Provide clear directions on mitigation and adaptation in all major sectors, the agricultural sector, as a priority;

· Create a national, integrated, single Climate Change Database;

· Direct efforts towards creating greater capacity across the three spheres of Government to increase the ability of Government institutions, especially at the local level and hence communities, to cope adequately with present and future risks from Climate Change hazards; and

· Have a policy thrust on the kind of mining that is needed in South Africa and identify the areas in which mining activities should be prohibited, besides the current network of protected areas. The Portfolio Committee acknowledged that mining (like other extractive industries), causes a severe and irreversible impact on society and the environment, notably through environmental degradation and intensive energy consumption, leading to global warming and hence climate disasters. Furthermore, the Portfolio Committee recommends harmonizing and the streamlining of the issuing of mining licenses, water permits and undertaking of environmental impact assessments in instances where they intersect.

The Portfolio Committee noted at the time of the processing of the White Paper that the Portfolio Committee’s recommendations on the Green Paper have directly contributed to influence the contents and the direction of the White Paper on Climate Change.

2. PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE WHITE PAPER ON CLIMATE CHANGE

2.1. Introduction

The Portfolio Committee held public hearings on the White Paper on Climate Change, soon after its formal adoption by Cabinet, in October 2011, as the Government’s national framework policy for Climate Change. The Portfolio Committee invited all interested stakeholders to submit written comments to Parliament, on a relatively short timeline, to gain an understanding of any concerns that members of the public could have about specific policy intentions articulated in the White Paper. Thirty-five submissions were made by public entities, civil society and business interests. The Portfolio Committee continued to accept submissions beyond the deadline, being acutely aware of the prevailing time constraints on holding the public hearings. .

The Portfolio Committee noted the concerns of some members of the public that the consultation period was too short for some people to adequately express their views on the White Paper. The Portfolio Committee agreed with this sentiment, but drew the attention of the public to the need for them to comment expeditiously prior to the convening of the COP17 gathering that South Africa was preparing to host. It was the need for South Africans to have a shared understanding of the country’s response policy to Climate Change and hence the need to speak with one voice at the COP17 gathering that made the Portfolio Committee move quickly in organising the public hearings on the White Paper, less than one month before the COP17 gathering. The public hearings were conducted over a six-day period and the strategic inputs from those public hearings are captured in the second section of this report.

2.2. Portfolio Committee’s Assessment and Analysis of the White Paper

On 6 December 2009, at the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change’s COP15 gathering, in Copenhagen, President Zuma, for the first time ever, publically committed South Africa to the implementation of mitigation actions that will collectively result in a 34% and a 42% deviation below its “Business As Usual” carbon emission growth trajectory, by 2020 and 2025, respectively. President Zuma also noted that, in accordance with article 4.7 of the UNFCCC, the extent to which this outcome can be achieved depends on the extent to which developed countries meet their commitment to provide financial, capacity-building, technology development and technology transfer support, to developing countries, like South Africa .

The South African government captured a policy framework in which to meet its international and national responsibilities and commitments relating to Climate Change, within the National Climate Change Response Policy, which was approved by Cabinet, as a White Paper, on 19 October 2011 (Gazette No 34695, Notice No 757). The White Paper represents the culmination of an iterative and participatory six (6) year long policy development process that was started in October 2005 and that involved ground-breaking modelling and research activities, two national conferences, numerous workshops and conferences in ever province, a myriad of bilateral and key stakeholder engagements, a NEDLAC review and Parliamentary Hearings on the Green and White Papers.

The Portfolio Committee, in November 2011, concluded Public Hearings on the White Paper and its implementation challenges, within days of the policy being approved by Cabinet.

Hereafter follows the Portfolio Committee’s observations of the White Paper on Climate Change:

Firstly, that the content of the White Paper differed markedly from the content of the Green Paper and captured the concerns, challenges and solutions identified during the Portfolio Committee’s hearings on the Green Paper.

Secondly, the Portfolio Committee is of the opinion that there seemingly exists broad consensus in our country on the principles underpinning our Climate Change policy framework in the White Paper.

Thirdly, in the main, that the White Paper consists more of an overarching policy framework for all the policies of all Departments on which Climate Change impacts, rather than detailed policies for each such Department. It was noted that the Department of Environmental Affairs will be the point Department for implementation of the overall policy framework, but the policies of each Department relating to our response to Climate Change remains the responsibility and mandate of each Department, within the overall policy framework.

Fourthly, the policy framework is a balanced and rational - but also a radical, progressive, all-encompassing, innovative, integrated and transformative- response to the challenges of Climate Change, underpinned by progressive and integrated developmental and sustainability goals, especially for a mid-range emerging economy in a developing country like South Africa.

Fifthly, that in the first time in our history, South Africa has adopted a detailed policy framework on carbon pricing, carbon budgets and financial instruments targeted at reducing the carbon emissions by our business community, like a carbon tax, with specific targets and mechanisms being identified and adopted for achieving a low carbon economy. This response potentially places our country amongst the leading nations of the world that are responding boldly and decisively to the challenges of Climate Change. Thus, this policy framework has the potential to leading our highly fossil-fuel driven economy to a low carbon and climate resilient economy, within a reasonable and achievable period of time; but this is also conditional on us moving into the future with circumspection and caution, as decisions made in haste and without the necessary prudence potentially can cause us irreparable economic damage. For example, the White Paper has taken greenhouse gas emission targets on board (reflecting the 2008 Cabinet Lekgotla targets and the Copenhagen pledges); whereas the Green Paper was devoid of such targets. The Portfolio Committee considered the projected emission reduction targets in the White Paper as very ambitious, but supported the proposal of those targets in the White Paper, and encouraged their attainment.

Sixthly, the Portfolio Committee also identified various challenges in the policy framework which may require further attention, as follows:

· Consideration should be given to the drafting of Climate Change legislation, as soon as is feasible, for processing and adoption by Parliament;

· The magnitude and vastness of the policy framework requires that consideration be given to a sequencing of activities in order of priority;

· The policy framework is mainly silent on all aspects of financing of our response to Climate Change, especially in respect of the objectives, funding and accessing of the various green funds already established or which are intended to be established in future, both internationally and nationally, like our National Green Fund;

· Consideration should be given by National Treasury of the compilation of an annual Climate Change budget, at the time of the adoption of the annual budget, which will reflect all monies which will be spent by the fiscus on our response to Climate Change; and

· Consideration should be given to the establishment of Climate Change Champions or Focus Persons in the provincial and local sphere of government, to ensure a more integrated and coordinated response by the different spheres of government in achieving the goals of the National Policy Framework on Climate Change.

Seventhly, the Portfolio Committee regards adoption of the White Paper on Climate Change as only the beginning (and not the end) of our nation’s response to Climate Change. Therefore, Parliament will, in future:

o Firstly, have to oversee the development and implementation of the National Climate Change Response Policy, contained in the White Paper, through the relevant Portfolio Committees, in particular the Portfolio Committees on Water and Environmental Affairs; Energy; Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs; Trade and Industry; Economic Development; Human Settlements; Rural Development and Land Affairs; Mineral Resources; Science and Technology; Finance; and Transport. In this regard, consideration will have to be given to the creation of mechanisms, comprising the relevant Portfolio Committees, to coordinate and oversee implementation of the White Paper on Climate Change. To this end, the Portfolio Committee has decided to hold at least one weeklong oversight meeting in each half of the year, inviting all relevant Portfolio Committees, to engage the Department of Environmental Affairs and all other relevant Departments/Agencies, on progress with the implementation of the policy framework.

o Secondly, have to identify and ensure the implementation of some immediate tasks by the relevant Departments/Agencies, arising from and in the policy framework, including:

§ Setting up the Intergovernmental Committee on Climate Change (IGCCC) and its sub-structures;

§ The identification and prioritization of key short and medium term adaptation interventions that must be addressed in sector plans and the identification of adaptation responses that require coordination between specific sectors and/or Departments;

§ Defining desired emission reduction outcomes and/or carbon budgets for each significant sector or sub-sector of the economy, based on an in-depth assessment of the mitigation potential, best available mitigation options, science, evidence and a full assessment of the costs and benefits;

§ Reviewing/auditing and revising key sectoral implementation plans to ensure alignment with the Climate Change policy and specifically the identified desired mitigation outcomes and/or carbon budgets and adaptation priorities;

§ Implementing the flagship programmes;

§ The establishment of a national, integrated, single Climate Change database;

§ The National Atmospheric Emission Inventory, including greenhouse gases (GHGs), a component of the South African Air Quality Information System, must be developed, tested and commissioned;

§ Designing and publishing a draft Climate Change Response Monitoring and Evaluation System; and

§ Appointing a multi-stakeholder climate financing working group.

o Thirdly and finally, through the relevant Portfolio Committees, review each policy and piece of legislation, which falls within its mandate, to determine whether it complies with the legal requirements to support the effective and efficient implementation of the institutional and regulatory arrangements proposed in the White Paper, and to continuously ensure policy and legislative alignment with the Climate Change policy framework.

The Portfolio Committee is of the view that the adoption of this White Paper by our Government is exemplary in the international Climate Change sector, and, if efficiently and effectively implemented, places our country at the cutting edge of the international response to slow down and then reverse the effects of Climate Change.

3. Public Hearings on Implementation of the White Paper AS AN ONGOING PROCESS.

It is important to reiterate that the Portfolio Committee regards adoption of the White Paper on Climate Change as only the beginning of the nation’s response to Climate Change. It was in this context that the Portfolio Committee decided to hold at least one weeklong oversight meeting in each half of each year, to engage the Department of Environmental Affairs and all other relevant Departments/Agencies, on progress with the implementation of the policy framework.

To this end, the Portfolio Committee held the first of such public hearings on the implementation of the White Paper to determine progress in the coordinated operationalisation of the specific policy directions in the White Paper, by relevant Departments and Agencies, from 5 th -7 th June 2012. These hearings were held in the context that:

  • Climate Change is a cross-cutting issue that requires affected parties to work together;

· on seeking cooperation to build an ‘alliance of like-minded stakeholders’ that can share knowledge and experience;

· on finding optimal mitigation and adaptation solutions;

· on finding ‘low hanging fruit’ emission reduction and adaptation opportunities; and

· on corporately sharing the risks of Climate Change.

The salient features of that parliamentary process is captured in the third section of this Report.

This is underpinned by the White Paper, where there is explicit recognition that Climate Change affects all the different facets of the economy, as well as all our other social endeavours, and hence the need for integrated implementation of policies and strategies pertaining to Climate Change. Consequently, Government Departments and Agencies that participated in this parliamentary monitoring and oversight exercise, included the Department of Environmental Affairs, which plays a leading and coordinating role in the implementation of the White Paper; and the Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs; Economic Development; Human Settlements; Mineral Resources; National Treasury; Rural Development and Land Affairs; Science and Technology; Trade and Industry; Transport; and Water Affairs. The National Disaster Management Centre also participated in the public hearings, considering the intricate relationship between disaster risk reduction initiatives and adaptation programmes, f or example, reducing vulnerability to Climate Change improves the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities to Climate Change, especially in fragile environments.

Discussions that followed the respective presentations at the public hearings indicated that the concerned Government Departments and Agencies were cognisant of the responsibilities placed on them by the White Paper and were all working towards the fulfillment of their obligations by operationalising those applicable aspects of the White Paper. It was evident that the Department of Environmental Affairs provides the requisite leadership in the coordinated implementation of the White Paper and it was apparent that the implementation of the White Paper is running smoothly, albeit very slowly, merely about six months after the adoption of the White Paper as a Government framework policy on Climate Change, by Cabinet. Similarly, scaling up of existing programmes that have important mitigation and adaptation implications, has also gained some momentum, notably in the Departments of Environmental Affairs, Energy and Transport that deal with the implementation of flagship programmes.

This first session of parliamentary public hearings on the implementation of the White Paper gave a bird’s-eye view of the implementation process and hence serves as a good reference point, against which future progress in the implementation of the White Paper could be monitored, with the aim of raising red flags where there are implementation deficits. It is necessary to regularly review the implementation approaches that Government Departments and Agencies pursue to enhance synergy and prevent duplication and hence wastage of scarce resources allocated to Government Departments and Agencies and other stakeholders for managing and implementing Climate Change resilient measures. This biannual monitoring by the Portfolio Committee assists Parliament to holistically gauge the Government’s commitment to Climate Change, taking into account South Africa ’s vulnerability to the negative consequences of Climate Change and also giving direction to the country’s indisputable involvement and leadership role in international Climate Change forums.

The second session of the parliamentary public hearings on the implementation of the White Paper are scheduled for late July 2013.In the meantime, during November 2012, a, briefing and progress report on the implementation of the White Paper was received by the Portfolio Committee from the Department of Environmental Affairs.

4. CONCLUSION

The Portfolio Committee is of the view that the Department of Environmental Affairs provided excellent leadership in coordinating the formulation and processing of the White Paper, through a detailed and long six year consultative process, before adoption by Cabinet. T he Portfolio Committee further considered the White Paper as a significant policy direction, insofar as the addition of numerical values for mitigation targets, a carbon budget approach and a commitment to keep ‘well below a maximum of 2ºC above pre-industrial levels’, among other innovative policy responses, are concerned. The policy was well-conceived and crafted, featuring strategic sectors with the greatest mitigation and adaptation potential for South Africa , and serves as a roadmap for transitioning to a low-carbon, Climate Change resilient, development path, but doing so in a measured and circumspect manner. Emphasis on up-scaling and fast-tracking of certain existing programmes as Climate Change flagship programmes have immediate beneficial consequences for South Africa in a multiplicity of ways. Importantly, in the Portfolio Committee’s view, the principles underpinning the policy are also seemingly widely accepted by the public, as it reflects the voice of the people of South Africa .

The implementation of the White Paper, like any other policy, represents a critical aspect of the policy process and hence requires all the sectors and stakeholders affected by the policy to respond appropriately in rolling out their respective policy measures to meet desired outcomes. It is in this context that Parliament, through the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs, undertakes to conduct regular monitoring and oversight of the policy implementation process, to ensure that there is a proper institutional arrangement that provides adequate leadership and coordination functions for successful operationalisation of the policy. The most recent public hearings on the implementation of the White Paper serves as a critical reference point for gauging future progress in this regard.

Report to be considered.

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