Submission: South Africa’s Draft Second Nationally Determined Contribution

Natural Justice critiques South Africa's Draft Second NDC, noting that while it introduces tighter 2030 targets and a 2031–2035 carbon budget, it lacks enforceable commitments, funding for adaptation, and a coal phase-out schedule. The submission recommends unconditional emissions reductions, grant-based loss and damage finance, and the integration of human rights indicators and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) into climate planning.

• The draft NDC demonstrates some progress through the introduction of a new carbon budget for 2031–2035 and more stringent targets for 2030, yet it is criticized for being aspirational due to a lack of community-centered implementation, adequate financing, and enforceable commitments.
• Significant gaps exist in mitigation and adaptation strategies, specifically the absence of a fossil fuel phase-out schedule, the reliance on conditional ambition, and the fact that major adaptation goals remain unfunded. Furthermore, adaptation monitoring prioritizes infrastructure over human rights outcomes and lacks gender-responsive planning and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
• The document identifies deficiencies in Loss and Damage (L&D) and institutional frameworks, noting a lack of commitment to grant-based finance, the absence of a domestic implementation roadmap for L&D funds, and the exclusion of natural disturbance emissions from Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems.

APA

Natural Justice (2025). Submission: South Africa’s Draft Second Nationally Determined Contribution. https://naturaljustice.org/publication/submission-south-africas-draft-second-nationally-determined-contribution/

Chicago

Natural Justice. Submission: South Africa’s Draft Second Nationally Determined Contribution. 2025. https://naturaljustice.org/publication/submission-south-africas-draft-second-nationally-determined-contribution/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Natural Justice |title=Submission: South Africa’s Draft Second Nationally Determined Contribution |date=22 September 2025 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/publication/submission-south-africas-draft-second-nationally-determined-contribution/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{naturaljustice2025submission, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{Submission: South Africa’s Draft Second Nationally Determined Contribution}}, publisher = {Natural Justice}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/publication/submission-south-africas-draft-second-nationally-determined-contribution/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }