South Africa Country Report

The report assesses South Africa's readiness for climate compatible development (CCD), defining it as low-carbon, climate-resilient development. It identifies significant research needs across eleven themes, including water security, food security, and health. While South Africa possesses a strong, networked research infrastructure led by the DST and NRF, the report highlights critical gaps in individual skills (such as systems thinking), institutional funding cycles that are too short for complex social-ecological research, and an uneven distribution of capacity across the 23 public universities. It emphasizes the need for transdisciplinary approaches and a shift from 'siloed' sectoral planning to integrated CCD strategies.

• South Africa is experiencing a well-established warming trend, with surface temperatures increasing since 1950 at rates equal to or exceeding the global mean.
• The country faces severe water scarcity, with official estimates projecting shortages of 2% to 13% of total water requirements by 2025, potentially rising to 19% to 33% when accounting for climate uncertainties.
• South Africa's economy is highly carbon-intensive, with energy use emissions constituting 80% of total emissions as of the 2000 base year, nearly double the average for developing countries.
• The National Climate Change Response White Paper (2011) prioritizes adaptation in five key sectors: water, agriculture and forestry, health, biodiversity, and human settlements.
• There is a critical shortage of specialized human capital for CCD, including 'absolutely' scarce skills in areas such as climatology, hydrology, and environmental engineering.
• Research funding in South Africa is fragmented, often provided in small amounts with short timeframes that do not align with academic cycles or the long-term needs of social-ecological systems research.
• While most of the 23 public universities engage in CCD-related research, capacity is highly unequal, with a few research-intensive institutions holding the majority of expertise.
• Transdisciplinary research is emerging but faces structural barriers in universities, including incentive and promotion systems that continue to favor disciplinary specialization.
• The African Green Campus Initiative, launched in 2012, aims to integrate sustainability into university curricula and campus management to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2014). South Africa Country Report. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SARUA-Vol2No8-South-Africa-Country-Report.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. South Africa Country Report. 2014. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SARUA-Vol2No8-South-Africa-Country-Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=South Africa Country Report |date=May 2014 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SARUA-Vol2No8-South-Africa-Country-Report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2014south, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{South Africa Country Report}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = may, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SARUA-Vol2No8-South-Africa-Country-Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }