CARBON OFFSETS PAPER

The document proposes a carbon offset mechanism to allow South African firms to reduce their carbon tax liability by up to 10% of actual emissions. It establishes that only South African-based credits from projects outside the carbon tax net are eligible to avoid double counting. The paper identifies a potential national demand for offsets of up to 30 million tonnes of CO2e per annum, with a projected supply exceeding 50 million tonnes, largely driven by land-use, forestry, and renewable energy projects. It suggests an initial reliance on international standards (CDM, VCS, GS, CCBS) while proposing the medium-term development of a domestic standard managed by the Designated National Authority (DNA), supported by an independent expert committee, a national registry, and accredited third-party verifiers.

• The proposed carbon offset scheme allows firms to reduce their carbon tax liability by between 5% and 10% of their actual emissions.
• To prevent double counting of tax benefits, only projects originating outside the scope of taxable activities are eligible for the initial period of the scheme.
• Eligibility is restricted to South African-based credits to promote local greenhouse gas mitigation and sustainable development.
• National demand for carbon offsets is estimated to be between 5 and 30 million tonnes of CO2e per annum, while potential supply is estimated at over 50 million tonnes of CO2e per annum.
• The Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector represents a significant supply opportunity, with one estimate suggesting a potential of 26 million tonnes of CO2e per year.
• The scheme will initially accept credits from four international standards: the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Gold Standard (GS), and Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS).
• The Designated National Authority (DNA) is proposed as the administrator of the scheme, responsible for pre-screening projects, evaluating verification reports, and issuing certificates.
• A domestic carbon offset standard is proposed for the medium term, requiring technical infrastructure including an independent expert committee, accredited third-party verifiers, a registry, and a trading platform.
• Certain project types are explicitly ineligible, including those that benefit from the Energy Efficiency Tax Incentive or the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP).
• Industrial gas-destruction projects, such as HFC-23 and Nitrous Oxide destruction, are excluded due to their low value and lack of co-benefits.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2014). CARBON OFFSETS PAPER. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014042901-Carbon-Offsets-Paper.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. CARBON OFFSETS PAPER. 2014. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014042901-Carbon-Offsets-Paper.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=CARBON OFFSETS PAPER |date=April 2014 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014042901-Carbon-Offsets-Paper.pdf?x21779 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2014carbon, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{CARBON OFFSETS PAPER}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2014}, month = apr, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014042901-Carbon-Offsets-Paper.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }