PRIORITISATION OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL AND OTHER PRESSING CLIMATE CONCERNS FOR 2020

A statement from the Centre for Environmental Rights, on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign, urging the Portfolio Committee on Environment, Forestry and Fisheries to prioritise the Climate Change Bill and accelerate South Africa's transition away from fossil fuels to mitigate severe climate risks.

• The Life After Coal Campaign urges the Portfolio Committee to prioritise the promulgation of a more robust Climate Change Act and related regulations, noting that no progress has been made on the Climate Change Bill since the comment process in August 2018.
• The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) is accused of lacking transparency by withholding greenhouse gas (GHG) emission data and reduction plans from the public, citing commercial confidentiality.
• The document calls for the abandonment of all new fossil fuel infrastructure, specifically citing the Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity 2019's provision for 1500 MW of new coal and 3000 MW of new gas capacity, as well as the proposed Thabametsi and Khanyisa coal plants and a 3300 MW plant in Makhado.
• The campaign demands the decommissioning of existing coal-fired power stations that are economically unviable or fail to comply with health-based pollution standards, particularly within the Highveld Priority Area where 12 of Eskom's 15 coal stations are located.
• South Africa's current climate commitments under the Paris Agreement are described as inadequate and inconsistent with the 1.5 degree Celsius benchmark set by the IPCC, potentially leading to warming of 3 to 4 degrees Celsius if targets remain unchanged.
• The document warns that failure to reduce global coal use in electricity generation by 80% below 2010 levels within 10 years could lead to severe consequences for Southern Africa, including warming of 5–8°C over the South African interior by the end of the century.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2020). PRIORITISATION OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL AND OTHER PRESSING CLIMATE CONCERNS FOR 2020. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Letter-to-Portfolio-Committee_Climate-Crisis-Prioritisation-28-1-20.docx.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. PRIORITISATION OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL AND OTHER PRESSING CLIMATE CONCERNS FOR 2020. 2020. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Letter-to-Portfolio-Committee_Climate-Crisis-Prioritisation-28-1-20.docx.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=PRIORITISATION OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL AND OTHER PRESSING CLIMATE CONCERNS FOR 2020 |date=28 January 2020 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Letter-to-Portfolio-Committee_Climate-Crisis-Prioritisation-28-1-20.docx.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2020prioritisation, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{PRIORITISATION OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL AND OTHER PRESSING CLIMATE CONCERNS FOR 2020}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Letter-to-Portfolio-Committee_Climate-Crisis-Prioritisation-28-1-20.docx.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }