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News
THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL - HOW DOES THIS IMPACT OUR INDUSTRY
By : Grant Laidlaw
The office of the presidency has announced that President Cyril
Ramaphosa has signed into law the Climate Change Bill which sets out a national climate change response , including mitigation and adaptation actions , which also constitutes South Africa ’ s fair contribution to the global climate change response .
The Climate Change Act , as endorsed by the President , Tuesday , 23 July 2024 , enables the alignment of policies that influence South Africa ’ s climate change response , to ensure that South Africa ’ s transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy and society is not constrained by policy contradictions
The law also sets out to enhance South Africa ’ s ability and capacity over time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions , and build climate resilience , while reducing the risk of job losses , and promoting opportunities for new job opportunities in the emerging green economy .
The Act has the aim of strengthening coordination between national sector departments and to provide policy setting and decision-making to enable South Africa to meet the commitments in Nationally Determined Contribution ( NDC ) under the Paris Agreement .
The NDC is a set of commitments South Africa has made under the international Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse emissions as part of climate change mitigation . South Africa is one of more than 190 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change who are parties to the eight-yearold Paris Agreement .
South Africa ’ s mitigation measures are a response to climate change impacts that are increasingly experienced across a number of sectors including water resources ; agriculture and food production ; forestry and fisheries ; human health ; energy generation ; industry ; human settlements and migration ; disaster management ; biodiversity and terrestrial ecosystems . These impacts will disproportionately affect poor communities and vulnerable groups and could affect South Africa ’ s ability to meet its development and economic growth goals , including job creation and poverty reduction .
The Climate Change Act sets out the functions of the Presidential Climate Commission , which includes providing advice on the Republic ’ s climate change response to ensure the realisation of the vision for effective climate change response and the long-term just transition to a climate-resilient and low-carbon economy and society .”
Details from the climate bill are as follows :
Grant Laidlaw
WHEREAS everyone has the Constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being , and to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations through reasonable legislative and other measures that secure ecologically sustainable development and the use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development ;
AND WHEREAS anthropogenic climate change represents an urgent threat to human societies and the planet and requires an effective , progressive and incremental response ;
a .
b .
AND WHEREAS the Republic has a role to play in the global effort to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions identified by the international community as the primary drivers of anthropogenic climate change , and for which the implementation of appropriate mitigation responses is urgently required ; is especially vulnerable to those impacts of climate change which require urgent and appropriate adaptation responses ; and c . has made international commitments and obligations , including to communicate and implement an effective nationally determined climate change response , encompassing mitigation and adaptation actions , that represents the Republic ’ s fair contribution to the global climate change response ;
AND WHEREAS climate variability in the Republic , including the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events , will affect , amongst other things , human health , access to food and water , biodiversity , habitats and ecosystems , the coast and coastal infrastructure and human settlements ; AND WHEREAS anticipated impacts arising as a result of climate change have the potential to undermine achieving the Republic ’ s developmental goals ;
Supplied by Grant Laidlaw
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