nemaqa-consultation-on-draft-technical-guidelines-for-validation-and-verification-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-644a60a664539d7d.pdf

The 'Technical Guidelines for Validation and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions' is a draft document issued by the South African Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF). It establishes the framework for verifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data submitted by Data Providers under the National Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Regulations, 2016 (NGERs). The guidelines detail a phased verification programme, the internal review processes of the Competent Authority, the requirements for independent third-party verification, and the accreditation and competence standards for verifiers.

• The verification programme is implemented in two phases to allow for continuous improvement and the maturation of the reporting regime. Phase 1 runs from the approval of the guidelines until December 2022, during which Independent Verifiers meeting specific competence requirements are permitted. Phase 2 begins in January 2023, at which point only Independent Verifiers accredited by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) in terms of ISO 14065 are allowed to conduct verifications.
• The Competent Authority (the National Inventory Unit based at the DEFF) uses a two-step process to determine if a facility requires independent verification. Step 1 involves post-submittal quality control checks, including range, statistical, algorithm, and boundary checks. Step 2 is a materiality risk review based on total tCO2e thresholds: facilities with over 50,000 tCO2e are considered high impact, while those under 15,000 tCO2e are very low impact.
• Data Providers must submit their Emissions Report via the South African Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting System (SAGERS), which is the GHG reporting module of the National Atmospheric Emission Inventory System (NAEIS), by 31 March of each year for the preceding calendar year.
• Independent verification is conducted to a 'reasonable level of assurance', meaning the verifier provides a reasonable, but not absolute, level of assurance that the GHG assertion is materially correct. The prescribed materiality limit for these engagements is 5% based on international standards.
• The independent verification process consists of four main stages: pre-verification engagement assessment, verification planning, conducting verification activities, and reporting. A mandatory requirement for every verification engagement is that the lead verifier must conduct at least one site visit to each facility to evaluate the implementation of control activities.
• Verification planning is a risk-based exercise where the verification team assesses inherent risk (susceptibility to misstatement without controls), control risk (failure of the control system to prevent or detect misstatements), and detection risk (the risk that the verifier fails to detect a misstatement).
• The outcome of an independent verification is a Verification Opinion statement, which can be either 'Positive' (reasonably assured of no material misstatement and in conformance with NGERs) or 'Negative' (not in conformance and/or not reasonably assured of no material misstatement).
• For Phase 1, the Competent Authority establishes specific minimum qualification and experience requirements for lead verifiers and independent reviewers. A lead verifier must have performed verification of Scope 1 GHG emissions on at least three completed reasonable assurance engagements over the past four years.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). nemaqa-consultation-on-draft-technical-guidelines-for-validation-and-verification-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-644a60a664539d7d.pdf. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/NEMAQA-Consultation-on-Draft-Technical-Guidelines-for-validation-and-verification-of-Greenhouse-Gas-Emissions.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. nemaqa-consultation-on-draft-technical-guidelines-for-validation-and-verification-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-644a60a664539d7d.pdf. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/NEMAQA-Consultation-on-Draft-Technical-Guidelines-for-validation-and-verification-of-Greenhouse-Gas-Emissions.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=nemaqa-consultation-on-draft-technical-guidelines-for-validation-and-verification-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-644a60a664539d7d.pdf |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/NEMAQA-Consultation-on-Draft-Technical-Guidelines-for-validation-and-verification-of-Greenhouse-Gas-Emissions.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsndnemaqaconsultationondrafttechnicalguidelinesforvalidationandverificationofgreenhousegasemissions644a60a664539d7dpdf, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{nemaqa-consultation-on-draft-technical-guidelines-for-validation-and-verification-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-644a60a664539d7d.pdf}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/NEMAQA-Consultation-on-Draft-Technical-Guidelines-for-validation-and-verification-of-Greenhouse-Gas-Emissions.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }