Climate Change Bill Webinar and Toolkit Launch

This guide, published by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), provides a toolkit and instructions for the public to submit written comments on South Africa's Climate Change Bill. It outlines the law-making process, explains the role of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and identifies specific weaknesses in the Bill regarding transparency, timeframes, emission targets, and enforcement.

• The Climate Change Bill, tabled by Minister Creecy on 18 February 2022, is designed to manage South Africa's climate response through adaptation and mitigation, while establishing institutional arrangements for a just transition to a low carbon economy.
• The CER identifies a contradiction between the government's climate statements and its actions, noting continued support for coal-fired power stations, coal mines, fossil gas-to-power projects, and the proposed Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) in northern Limpopo.
• South Africa's 2021 updated NDC targets a 2°C temperature increase, which the document describes as not ambitious enough compared to the 1.5°C level recommended by science. The 2015 NDC would have put the world on a trajectory toward a 4°C increase.
• The CER criticizes the Bill's transparency provisions for relying on the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), arguing these are too burdensome and allow information to be refused on commercial grounds.
• The Bill lacks specific timeframes for critical actions, such as assigning carbon budgets to emitters, 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 begins.
• The Bill currently deems the 2015 NDC as the interim emission trajectory rather than the 2021 update, and it does not include a Net Zero by 2050 target or a 45% emissions decrease by 2030.
• The CER argues that the Bill is 'toothless' regarding enforcement, as the only defined offence is the failure to provide a GHG mitigation plan, and previous provisions for 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} }