Climate Change Bill Webinar and Toolkit Launch

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) has released a toolkit to guide citizens in submitting feedback on South Africa's Climate Change Bill. The guide outlines the lawmaking process, explains the role of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and identifies critical gaps in the Bill, such as the lack of urgent timeframes for emissions targets, weak transparency provisions, and the use of an outdated 2015 NDC as an interim trajectory. It urges the public to demand stronger penalties for exceeding carbon budgets and more meaningful public participation hearings.

• The Climate Change Bill is intended to manage South Africa's climate response regarding mitigation and adaptation, while establishing institutional arrangements for a just transition to a low carbon economy.
• The document argues that the South African government's actions often contradict its climate statements, citing the pursuit of new coal mines, coal-fired power stations, fossil gas-to-power projects, and the proposed Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) in northern Limpopo.
• The Bill's current approach to transparency is considered weak because it relies on the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), which can be used to refuse information on commercial grounds.
• There is a critical lack of deadlines in the Bill for assigning carbon budgets, setting Sectoral Emissions Targets, or determining an emissions trajectory. Adaptation plans for ministries are delayed by 4 years, and for municipalities and provinces by 5 years after the Act commences.
• The Bill is criticized for using the 2015 NDC as the interim emissions trajectory instead of the 2021 update, which the CER states puts the country on a path toward a potential 4°C global temperature increase (up to 8°C for South Africa).
• The Bill is described as potentially 'toothless' because it lacks strong penalties; currently, the only specified offence is the failure to provide a GHG mitigation plan, and previous versions that included higher carbon tax rates for exceeding budgets were removed.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). Climate Change Bill Webinar and Toolkit Launch. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CER-Climate-Change-Bill-Toolkit.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Climate Change Bill Webinar and Toolkit Launch. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CER-Climate-Change-Bill-Toolkit.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Climate Change Bill Webinar and Toolkit Launch |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CER-Climate-Change-Bill-Toolkit.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsndclimate, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Climate Change Bill Webinar and Toolkit Launch}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CER-Climate-Change-Bill-Toolkit.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }