South Africa adopts a Climate Change Bill

The President of South Africa has signed into law the Climate Change Bill, which sets out a national climate change response, including mitigation and adaptation actions, enabling the country to meet its emissions reduction commitments under the Paris climate agreement. Specifically, the text sets out the functions of the Presidential Climate Commission, which will provide advice on climate change response to ensure a just transition to a climate-resilient and low-carbon society. Emissions targets will be established for each high-emitting sector, including energy production, agriculture, transport, and industry, with the respective ministers required to implement measures to achieve these targets. Additionally, the law mandates that the environment minister allocate carbon budgets to large greenhouse gas-emitting companies, setting specific limits on their emissions over a designated period.

In its updated NDC (2021), South Africa aims to limit GHG emissions to 398-510 MtCO_2eq in 2025 and to 350-420 MtCO_2eq in 2030. According to the 8^th national inventory, GHG emissions reached 469 MtCO₂eq in 2020 excluding LULUCF; they are estimated to have decreased by 3% since 2020. CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion have decreased by around 3%/year since 2018 to 421 MtCO₂ in 2023, a level close to the 2004-2006 average level.