SA’s plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050

Like the rest of the world, South Africa is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In unmitigated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions scenarios, drier conditions will be experienced, and rainfall patterns will become more unpredictable.

South Africa’s climate changes will impact water resources and food production as well as increase the vulnerability of impoverished communities. Government has thus passed three bills as part of a plan to combat climate change. South Africa's new climate policy consists of the following three pillars: the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the Low Emission Development Strategies (LEDS), and an improved waste management strategy.

Establishment of the PCCCC and NDCs

The climate change plan adopted by the South African government aims to meet the country’s international commitments and find adaptation solutions. As part of this new policy, several bills have been approved by the Council of Ministers, including the bill to establish the future Presidential Climate Change Coordination Commission (PCCCC).

The council will consist of 24 members and has a budget of R50 million. The mission of the PCCCC will be to advise and guide South Africa’s response to climate change and to ensure that the policy objectives of building sustainable social, economic and environmental resilience and emergency response capacity are met.

According to government, the future commission will also explore opportunities for new jobs and green industries that should be exploited, as well as climate resilience interventions that need to be scaled up in areas at risk.

The overall objective is to advise and guide South Africa’s climate change response to ensure the realisation of the policy objectives of building sustainable social, economic and environmental resilience and emergency response capacity, and a fair contribution to the global effort to stabilise GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that avoids dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, within a timeframe that enables economic, social and environmental development a sustainable manner. to proceed in

Measures currently being implemented by government to address GHG emissions mitigation stretch across the four key sectors of the economy, namely:

• energy (supply and demand)

• industry

• agriculture, forestry and other land use

• waste.

The first step will thus be to ensure national targets are aligned with the Paris Agreement. Thereafter, planning teams with analytical and sectoral expertise will engage in detailed scenario work to develop transformation pathways towards achieving the national targets.

The efforts of translating such a plan to policy is a challenge all parties will have to grapple with over the coming months and years. South Africa aims to inform roll-out plans using a dedicated change framework.

Implementing LEDS

The goal is to reduce GHG emissions, using South Africa’s LEDS, which government calls “the beginning of our journey towards ultimately reaching a net zero economy by 2050”.

The deposit of the LEDS with the UNFCCC will help communicate South Africa’s needs and priorities, so that developed countries that wish to support implementation efforts through finance, technology or capacity building can be assured that South Africa has a plan to reduce its emissions

LEDS came about in response to the Paris Agreement’s call for all parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to set out long-term climate strategies. It draws together existing policies, planning and research across economic sectors. SA-LEDS will be implemented within the framework of the Global Partnership for LowEmission Development Strategies, which aims to advance low-emission development and support the transition to a low-carbon economy through coordination, information exchange and cooperation among countries and programmes that support sustainable economic growth. The LEDS will then be deposited with the secretariat of the UNFCCC.

“The deposit of the LEDS with the UNFCCC will help communicate South Africa’s needs and priorities, so that developed countries that wish to support implementation efforts through finance, technology or capacity building can be assured that South Africa has a plan to reduce its emissions,” government states.

SA-LEDS will be reviewed at least every five years, or earlier, should there be significant changes in sectoral or national plans/ programmes that can result in big structural changes, growth or decay of the economy and major global events that impact on its content or implementation.

Improving waste management

The new climate plan will address waste management through the adoption of the National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) 2020. Government wants to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill through incentives for reuse, recycling and alternative waste treatment such as energy recovery or composting.

NWMS 2020 is a revision and update of the 2011 strategy and builds on the successes of and lessons learned from its implementation. NWMS 2020 is broadly focused on preventing waste and diverting waste from landfill by leveraging the concept of the circular economy to drive sustainable, inclusive economic growth and development in the waste sector, while reducing the social and environmental impacts of waste. Its implementation plan will create jobs in the waste sector and increase awareness and compliance around waste.

Among the significant strategic shifts from the 2011 strategy in NWMS 2020 include addressing the role of waste pickers and the informal sector in the circular economy, promoting product design packaging that reduces waste or encourages reuse, repair and preparation for recycling, and supporting markets for source-separated recyclables. The strategy investigates potential regulatory or economic interventions to increase participation rates in residential separation-at-source programmes, while investing in the economies associated with transporting recyclables to waste processing facilities and addressing the sector’s skills gaps. The strategy will also require a commitment with National Treasury on the operational expenditure for municipalities associated with implementation.

NWMS 2020 pillars

There are three overarching pillars of the NWMS 2020.

Waste Minimisation aims to prevent waste. Where waste cannot be prevented, 40% should be diverted from landfill within five years through reuse, recycling, recovery and alternative waste treatment. A 25% reduction in waste generation is sought and 20% waste should be reused in the economic value chain.

Effective and Sustainable Waste Services would see all South Africans living in clean communities with waste services that are well managed and financially sustainable.

Waste Awareness and Compliance is aimed at creating a culture of compliance, with zero tolerance for pollution, littering and illegal dumping.