COMMENTS ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL, 2018

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing the Life After Coal/Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle Campaign, submitted detailed comments on the Climate Change Bill, 2018. The CER argues that the Bill focuses too heavily on government bureaucracy and fails to address the urgency of the climate crisis or provide sufficient mechanisms for holding emitters accountable. Key recommendations include setting a strict, legally binding emissions trajectory aligned with the Paris Agreement, ensuring full public disclosure of carbon budgets and GHG reports, and establishing independent oversight and appeals bodies.

• The CER contends that the Climate Change Bill, 2018, prioritizes the creation of a "bureaucracy of government bodies, plans, and processes" over urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and hold emitters and the government accountable.
• The document argues that South Africa is not currently on track to meet the Paris Agreement targets of limiting global temperature increases to well below 2°C or 1.5°C, which the CER claims is inconsistent with Constitutional rights to life, dignity, and a healthy environment.
• The CER recommends that the Bill be amended to include a strict, legally binding GHG emissions trajectory and threshold immediately, rather than leaving these to be determined by the Minister at an undisclosed time. They suggest the trajectory should reflect, at minimum, the lowest range of the Peak Plateau Decline (PPD) trajectory.
• A major concern is the lack of mandatory public disclosure for critical documents. The CER requests that all reports, assessments, and records—specifically carbon budgets, GHG mitigation plans, and compliance reports—be made publicly accessible by default.
• The CER criticizes the Bill's enforcement mechanisms, stating that the proposed R5 million fine and 5 years' imprisonment are "woefully inadequate" and that the provision for extensions to carbon budget compliance should be deleted to prevent historical polluters from continuing "business-as-usual."
• The document highlights a lack of provision for capacity-building and funding for municipalities and provinces, which are tasked with significant planning and reporting obligations under the Bill despite existing failures in air quality and waste management.
• The CER recommends the establishment of several independent institutions to ensure the Bill's effectiveness: a specialist advisory body of scientists, a climate change monitoring and enforcement authority, and an independent appeals body.
• The CER argues that the Bill should explicitly prohibit "grandfathering" and include provisions for "loss and damage" to compensate those suffering from climate change impacts.
• Regarding synthetic GHGs, the CER recommends that the phase-down plan include the proper disposal of "banked" refrigerants in aging equipment and consider both direct and indirect emissions.
• The CER suggests that the Bill's public participation processes are insufficient and should be expanded to include considerations of gender and cultural diversity, as seen in the laws of Peru and Guatemala.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). COMMENTS ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL, 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Life-After-Coal-Comments-on-CC-Bill_8-August-18.docx-1.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. COMMENTS ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL, 2018. 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Life-After-Coal-Comments-on-CC-Bill_8-August-18.docx-1.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=COMMENTS ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL, 2018 |date=8 August 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Life-After-Coal-Comments-on-CC-Bill_8-August-18.docx-1.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2018comments, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{COMMENTS ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL, 2018}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Life-After-Coal-Comments-on-CC-Bill_8-August-18.docx-1.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }