Parliamentary legislative process, timeframes and role-players for the National Climate Change Bill

This briefing memorandum, written by Danjelle Midgley of the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), outlines the legislative process, key role-players, and estimated timeframes for the National Climate Change Bill following its introduction to the South African Parliament on 11 October 2021.

• The National Climate Change Bill is classified as a section 76 bill because it affects the provinces. It was officially introduced in Parliament by Minister Barbara Creecy on 11 October 2021.
• The legislative process involves a sequence starting with the National Assembly's Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, followed by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and its Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy. The bill must then be considered by each of the nine provincial legislatures before returning to the NCOP for negotiation and potential referral back to the National Assembly or a Mediation Committee.
• Key role-players include members of the National Assembly's Portfolio Committee, the NCOP's Select Committee, and environmental committees within the nine provincial legislatures. Political parties are significant influencers, as committee members typically vote according to pre-determined party lines. While the executive no longer controls the bill's content, the Climate Change directorate within the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment remains vital for future implementation and the drafting of Regulations.
• Formal engagement opportunities for the CER include submitting written comments and making verbal presentations to the Portfolio Committee, the Select Committee, and through public participation processes in provincial legislatures. Informal engagement may involve requesting presentations through committee secretaries and chairpersons or engaging individual committee members prior to briefings.
• Based on Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) data from 2006 to 2018, 76% of bills affecting provinces were successfully adopted. On average, it takes 201 days from introduction to adoption, or 73 parliamentary days (approximately 55% of a year).
• The author estimates that the entire process from introduction to adoption will likely exceed 12 months. This is due to the bill's complexity, the late introduction in an election year, and the busy schedules of committees, including the impact of COP26 in early November 2021. Public participation by the portfolio committee is expected to commence in December 2021 or 2022, with verbal presentations likely occurring after February 2022.
• The NCOP's select committee operates on a six-week cycle for section 76 legislation. This process requires the Select Committee to meet with departments and for permanent delegates to brief their provinces. Adoption by the NCOP requires support from five out of nine provinces.

APA

Midgley, D. (2021). Parliamentary legislative process, timeframes and role-players for the National Climate Change Bill. Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Climate-Change-Bill-Memo-on-process-11-Oct-2021-Dani.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Midgley, Danjelle. Parliamentary legislative process, timeframes and role-players for the National Climate Change Bill. Centre for Environmental Rights, 2021. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Climate-Change-Bill-Memo-on-process-11-Oct-2021-Dani.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Midgley |first1=Danjelle |title=Parliamentary legislative process, timeframes and role-players for the National Climate Change Bill |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=11 October 2021 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Climate-Change-Bill-Memo-on-process-11-Oct-2021-Dani.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{midgley2021parliamentary, author = {Midgley, Danjelle}, title = {{Parliamentary legislative process, timeframes and role-players for the National Climate Change Bill}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Climate-Change-Bill-Memo-on-process-11-Oct-2021-Dani.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }