South Africa Passes its First Sweeping Climate Change Law

July 26, 2024

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa signed a major climate change act into law in October 2023. This law tries to limit the amount of pollution big polluters can make and requires every municipality to make a plan for dealing with climate change. This makes South Africa’s efforts more in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

Objectives of the Climate Change Act

The main goal of the act is to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, which are high in South Africa because the country gets most of its energy from coal. The country is one of the biggest producers of carbon dioxide and has been having a hard time meeting its goals for lowering pollution.

Legal Framework and Responsibilities

South Africa’s reaction to climate change has been written into domestic law for the first time. Every state and city must look at the risks that climate change poses and come up with a plan for how to deal with them. Also, emissions goals will be set for important areas like agriculture, transportation, and industry. To meet these targets, ministers in charge of those areas will have to take action.

Carbon Budget Allocations

The law sets up a carbon budget method for big companies that release a lot of greenhouse gases. Each big company that emits will have its pollution limited for a certain amount of time. Companies will have to pay more in carbon taxes if they go over this limit, even though it’s not illegal to do so.

Expectations and Challenges

When carbon budgets are put in place, experts expect big businesses to cut their pollution by a large amount. To make sure responsibility, reporting must be clear and honest. But the law will only work if clear rules for allocating resources are put in place and people are given money to help them switch to green energy sources. This act could mean a change in how the South African government deals with climate change, pointing to a more aggressive approach than in the past. Still, problems like not having enough money and clear plans for switching to green energy are already there.

« Previous Post Next Post »