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Ecology & Environment
Mahesh

29/07/24 08:53 AM IST

South Africa’s new law on climate change

In News
  • South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, signed into law a piece of legislation that will impose mandatory curbs on the emissions from large, fossil-fuel heavy industries and, require climate-adaptation plans from towns and villages.
Significance
  • The Climate Change Bill was approved by South Africa’s National Assembly last November.
  • South Africa relies on coal as its primary fuel source for electricity generation and is one of the world’s top 15 greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters.
  • According to an official estimate, net emissions in 2017 were estimated at 512 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e), an increase of 14% from 2000.
  • In 2022, this fell to 405 Mt CO2e, a 3% fall from 2021.
  • It is unclear if these numbers are strictly comparable and if the fall was linked to the worldwide, temporary dip in emissions following COVID-19.
  • The energy sector represents roughly 80% of gross emissions, with energy industries (~60% ) and transport (~12%).
  • Being an economy which is dependent on agriculture and tourism, South Africa has faced increasing Western pressure to accelerate its transition away from fossil fuel. 
Steps taken by South Africa
  • Every country submits Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), which are time-bound commitments to lower emissions.
  • South Africa submitted its first NDC in 2016 and its updated NDC in 2021.
  • The updated NDC commits to 31% reduction and a fixed target for GHG emissions levels of 398-510 MtCO2e by 2025, and 350-420 MtCO2e by 2030.
  • The NDC outlines an approach for a ‘just transition,’ — or the sustainable movement to jobs away from fossil-fuel dependent industries — to achieve targets, focusing on agriculture, forestry and other land use, energy, industrial processes and product use, and waste sectors.
  • South Africa has estimated that it requires $8 billion per year by 2030.
  • It has set an internal goal of reaching ‘net zero emissions’ by 2050 in its Low-Emission Development Strategy submitted in 2020.
  • In addition, the Presidential Climate Commission released its Just Transition Framework in 2022, which aims to inform policy making at the nexus of climate and development to enable deep, just transformational shifts.
  • These were the actions that preceded the signing of the Climate Change Bill. 
Initiatives taken by India
  • Priyanka Chaturvedi, the Rajya Sabha parliamentarian, had moved a Private Member’s Bill, called the Council on Climate Change Bill, most recently in 2022.
  • This proposed setting up a Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, for advising the Union government on all matters related to climate change but there has been no significant movement on this so far.
  • However, climate change features in multiple Acts and subordinate legislation.
  • These include the Environmental Protection Act, Forest Conservation Act, Energy Conservation Act, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act among others. 
  • Prior to the UN Conference of Parties in Dubai last year, India communicated that the intensity of its energy emissions had reduced by 33% from 2005-2019, 11 years ahead of target.
  • It also committed to revising its emissions intensity to 45% by 2030 in the updated set of NDC.
  • Emission intensity refers to the total amount of GHG emitted for every unit increase of GDP.
  • It is different from absolute emissions. India has also committed to source 50% of its electricity in 2030 from non-fossil fuel resources.
Source- Indian Express

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