FACT SHEET: Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill

The Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill aims to accelerate petroleum exploitation in South Africa, but Natural Justice argues it conflicts with the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC. The document highlights risks to biodiversity, a lack of meaningful public consultation, and a failure to coordinate a climate action response across government levels.

• The Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill outlines 15 objectives concerning the management, exploration, and licensing of petroleum rights, with a specific goal to speed up the exploitation of petroleum resources within South Africa.
• The Bill is viewed as opposing South Africa's international climate obligations under the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which require the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the increase of climate adaptation efforts.
• The document asserts that the Bill fails to explain the implementation of South Africa’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan or biodiversity offsets to restore degraded lands, despite the rapid loss of indigenous species.
• There has been a lack of proper public consultation and participation in the drafting of the Bill, which the document claims violates the constitutional rights of South African citizens, particularly those in poor, rural, or remote communities most vulnerable to climate change.
• The Bill is criticized for not providing a well-coordinated climate action response across government levels and for creating uncertainty regarding how it affects existing laws like the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and the National Environmental Management Act.

APA

Natural Justice (n.d.). FACT SHEET: Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/UPRD-Bill-Fact-Sheet.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. FACT SHEET: Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill. n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/UPRD-Bill-Fact-Sheet.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=FACT SHEET: Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/UPRD-Bill-Fact-Sheet.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljusticendfact, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{FACT SHEET: Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/UPRD-Bill-Fact-Sheet.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }