Climate Change Act and the role of local government

This policy brief by Good Governance Africa examines the implementation of South Africa's Climate Change Act of 2024, focusing on the critical but challenged role of local government in achieving climate resilience and a just energy transition.

• South Africa passed the Climate Change Act in July 2024 to address climate impacts including flooding, sea level rise, extreme heat, and drought, occurring as the country warms by approximately 0.2°C per decade.
• Under the Climate Change Act, district and metropolitan municipalities are legally mandated to submit implementation plans and context-specific response assessments and climate change needs reviews every five years.
• Local government capacity is severely hindered by poor financial management; for the 2022-2023 audit period, only 34 of 257 municipalities received clean audits, and unauthorised expenditure reached R241.1 billion.
• The author recommends professionalising the public service to support the Act's operationalisation, suggesting the Public Service Commission (PSC) lead efforts to appoint technical experts and provide phased implementation timelines.
• The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) is the national multi-stakeholder body tasked with overseeing a just and equitable transition to a climate-resilient, low-emissions economy and society.
• To improve the operationalisation of the Act, the brief recommends that all municipalities increase their use of the Local Government Climate Change Support Programme to enhance integrated management and reporting.

APA

Siyobi, B. (2024). Climate Change Act and the role of local government. Good Governance Africa. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2024/11/Climate-Change-PB.pdf

Chicago

Siyobi, Busisipho. Climate Change Act and the role of local government. Good Governance Africa, 2024. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2024/11/Climate-Change-PB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Siyobi |first1=Busisipho |title=Climate Change Act and the role of local government |publisher=Good Governance Africa |date=November 2024 |url=https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2024/11/Climate-Change-PB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{siyobi2024climate, author = {Siyobi, Busisipho}, title = {{Climate Change Act and the role of local government}}, institution = {Good Governance Africa}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2024/11/Climate-Change-PB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }