PRELIMINARY SUBMISSIONS REGARDING THE DRAFT REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT 2017

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) criticises the draft 2017 National Framework for Air Quality Management for failing to review progress against previous targets and for inadequate public participation. The submissions highlight persistent non-compliance with national ambient air quality standards in priority areas, severe delays in the implementation of the South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS), and deficiencies in greenhouse gas reporting. CER demands more transparent, facility-level GHG reporting, stricter air quality standards aligned with WHO guidelines, and the urgent appointment of air quality officers and inspectors to ensure enforcement of the Air Quality Act.

• Despite the declaration of priority areas like the Vaal Triangle Airshed and Highveld Priority Areas over a decade ago, regular and significant exceedances of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) continue to occur.
• The draft 2017 Framework fails to assess progress or provide reasons for the failure to meet targets set in the 2007 and 2012 Frameworks, instead simply extending deadlines for projects such as the South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS) and the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring strategy.
• Public participation for the draft Framework review has been insufficient, specifically regarding the lack of meetings held within the priority areas where air quality is poorest and health impacts are most severe.
• Current greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting regulations are deficient because they do not explicitly require reporting at a facility level, which is necessary to accurately monitor and regulate emission sources.
• South Africa's national ambient air quality standards are weaker than World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, with the SO2 standards described as extremely lax.
• There is a critical lack of reliable and publicly accessible air quality data, evidenced by the fact that the number of monitoring stations required to report to the National Air Quality Index (NAQI) in the draft framework has decreased from 80 to 42.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2017). PRELIMINARY SUBMISSIONS REGARDING THE DRAFT REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT 2017. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/CER-Comments-on-Framework-Review-29-Sept-2017.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. PRELIMINARY SUBMISSIONS REGARDING THE DRAFT REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT 2017. 2017. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/CER-Comments-on-Framework-Review-29-Sept-2017.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=PRELIMINARY SUBMISSIONS REGARDING THE DRAFT REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT 2017 |date=29 September 2017 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/CER-Comments-on-Framework-Review-29-Sept-2017.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2017preliminary, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{PRELIMINARY SUBMISSIONS REGARDING THE DRAFT REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT 2017}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2017}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/CER-Comments-on-Framework-Review-29-Sept-2017.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }