COMMENTS ON THE INTENDED DRAFT GUIDELINE FOR CONSIDERATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS IN APPLICATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATIONS, ATMOSPHERIC EMISSIONS LICENSES AND WASTE MANAGEMENT LICENCES

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing groundWork and Earthlife Africa, submitted comments on July 23, 2021, regarding the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment's (DFFE) draft Guideline for considering climate change implications in environmental authorisations and licenses. While welcoming the initiative, the CER argues that the draft is insufficient to address the climate crisis and fails to meet the legal requirements of the Constitution and the National Environment Management Act (NEMA). The submission advocates for a 1.5°C warming limit as the primary benchmark for emissions assessments rather than Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and calls for the inclusion of social costs of carbon and full lifecycle GHG emissions in project evaluations.

• The CER contends that South Africa's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are an inadequate benchmark for assessing an activity's climate change mitigation impacts because they are based on executive discretion and may not align with a safe emission reduction pathway. The CER argues that the benchmark should instead be a 1.5°C warming limit, noting that the draft NDC update from March 30, 2021, is 'insufficient' and the 2015 NDC is 'highly insufficient' according to Climate Action Tracker.
• The submission urges the DFFE to require an assessment of the external and social costs of carbon emissions for proposed projects. The CER suggests using the USA's social cost of carbon (SCC) protocol or an equivalent methodology to quantify damages—such as impacts on GDP, biodiversity, and human health—that are typically not paid for by project proponents, aligning with the NEMA principle that costs of remedying pollution must be paid by those responsible.
• The CER argues that climate impact assessments must adopt a full lifecycle and cumulative approach rather than assessing activities in isolation. This includes examining the full footprint of a project, its effects on carbon sinks, and how a single proposal contributes to the cumulative effects of other past, current, and future projects.
• The CER emphasizes the need to integrate equity and socio-economic considerations into climate assessments, specifically focusing on vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly, and poor communities who disproportionately bear the brunt of climate impacts. They recommend that the Guideline explicitly require the identification of disproportionate impacts on these groups to enable proactive public participation.
• The submission recommends expanding the definition and assessment of 'stranded assets' to include risks related to the economics of renewable energy, stricter GHG emission limits, regulatory risks, and market changes. The CER notes that the impacts of stranded assets extend beyond owners to include costs to public funds and society through job losses and decommissioning.
• The CER suggests that the climate impact guidance should be extended beyond the DFFE's mandate to include other licensing processes, such as water use licensing, electricity generation licenses by the National Energy Regulator, and scheduled trade permitting by local governments, to ensure consistency across government decision-making.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2021). COMMENTS ON THE INTENDED DRAFT GUIDELINE FOR CONSIDERATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS IN APPLICATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATIONS, ATMOSPHERIC EMISSIONS LICENSES AND WASTE MANAGEMENT LICENCES. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LAC-Submission-National-Guideline-for-Climate-Change-Considerations_26-July-2021.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. COMMENTS ON THE INTENDED DRAFT GUIDELINE FOR CONSIDERATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS IN APPLICATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATIONS, ATMOSPHERIC EMISSIONS LICENSES AND WASTE MANAGEMENT LICENCES. 2021. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LAC-Submission-National-Guideline-for-Climate-Change-Considerations_26-July-2021.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=COMMENTS ON THE INTENDED DRAFT GUIDELINE FOR CONSIDERATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS IN APPLICATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATIONS, ATMOSPHERIC EMISSIONS LICENSES AND WASTE MANAGEMENT LICENCES |date=23 July 2021 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LAC-Submission-National-Guideline-for-Climate-Change-Considerations_26-July-2021.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2021comments, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{COMMENTS ON THE INTENDED DRAFT GUIDELINE FOR CONSIDERATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS IN APPLICATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATIONS, ATMOSPHERIC EMISSIONS LICENSES AND WASTE MANAGEMENT LICENCES}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2021}, month = jul, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/LAC-Submission-National-Guideline-for-Climate-Change-Considerations_26-July-2021.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }