PRELIMINARY COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT NATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REPORTING REGULATIONS

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting on behalf of several environmental justice organisations, submitted preliminary comments on South Africa's Draft National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Reporting Regulations. The submission argues that the draft regulations place an inappropriate burden on data providers to calculate their own emissions and lacks sufficient transparency and public disclosure mechanisms, which are necessary to meet South Africa's commitments under the Paris Agreement and its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

• The CER argues that the responsibility for calculating GHG emissions should shift from the data provider to the competent authority to ensure consistency and fairness. Under the current draft, the burden of determining the appropriate methodology, tier, and emission factor rests with the Category A data provider, which the CER claims is "unjust, and unreasonably burdensome".
• The submission highlights a lack of transparency and public access to data in the draft regulations. The CER contends that the definition of "transparency" is too narrow and that draft regulations 12 and 14 place "undue restrictions on the publication of NAEIS data", potentially violating constitutional rights to environmental information.
• The CER recommends that reporting be required at the individual facility level rather than as an aggregated corporate report. They argue that emissions are easier to track when tied to physical sources and that the current wording of draft regulation 7 is "disconcertingly ambiguous and unclear", potentially allowing for aggregated reports.
• The document identifies a gap in the reporting scope regarding refrigeration and air conditioning. The CER suggests that emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs) from these sources should be monitored and reported, particularly by importers, wholesalers, and distributors.
• The CER criticizes the administrative process, noting that the Technical Guidelines—which are central to the regulations' implementation—were not published alongside the draft Regulations. They describe this as an "irregularity for administrative justice" contrary to the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (PAJA).
• The submission proposes the creation of a new 'Category C' data provider. This category would encompass "importers, wholesalers and distributors of fuels, substitutes for ozone depleting chemicals", whose data is considered significant for the national GHG Inventory.
• The CER objects to 'deeming provisions' in draft regulations 10(4) and 11(2), which could allow submissions to be accepted automatically if the authority fails to respond within a certain timeframe. They argue this would allow data providers to effectively "regulate themselves".
• The document emphasizes that South Africa's GHG reporting must align with its international commitments under the Paris Agreement and its NDC, which includes a goal for emissions to peak between 2020 and 2025 and a requirement for mandatory GHG reporting by the end of 2016.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2016). PRELIMINARY COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT NATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REPORTING REGULATIONS. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Annexure-F-CER-Submissions-Draft-GHG-Reporting-Regs-7-7-16.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. PRELIMINARY COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT NATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REPORTING REGULATIONS. 2016. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Annexure-F-CER-Submissions-Draft-GHG-Reporting-Regs-7-7-16.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=PRELIMINARY COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT NATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REPORTING REGULATIONS |date=7 July 2016 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Annexure-F-CER-Submissions-Draft-GHG-Reporting-Regs-7-7-16.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2016preliminary, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{PRELIMINARY COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT NATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REPORTING REGULATIONS}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2016}, month = jul, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Annexure-F-CER-Submissions-Draft-GHG-Reporting-Regs-7-7-16.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }