Electricity + Control December 2017

Mitigation of GHG Emissions: Now an Obligation for South African Companies

Silvana Claassen, CES South Africa

Following the promulgation of the National Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Regulations during April 2017, the National Pollution Prevention Plans Regulations were announced in the Government Gazette 40996 on 21 July together with the Declaration of Greenhouse Gases as Priority Air Pollutants

T hese sets of rules (further throughout this article referred to as ‘The Regulations’) were introduced within a short timeframe and not long after South Africa ratified the international Paris Climate Agreement. Is this an indication that South Africa is progressively preparing the regula- tory and administrative infrastructure required for a low carbon economy?The aim of this article is two- fold: to provide clarity on how these regulations are linked, thus helping companies to develop systems that enable compliance in a strategic and efficient manner; ánd to highlight some key background-ele- ments to create for an understanding of these reg- ulations within a broader context of international climate change treaties and agreements. Why this sudden introduction of green- house gas emissions regulations? The Regulations have been introduced in a time- frame of less than four months and within less than half a year after South Africa ratified the Paris

Climate Agreement in November last year (2016). At the same time, these sets of rules are the first that are directly targeting greenhouse gas emis- sions in South Africa. Could this be the beginning of a new series of snowballing regulations? In the run up to the Paris climate summit that took place in December 2015, South Africa submitted its ‘Intended Nationally Determined Contribution’ (INDC) containing a commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to a range of between 398 and 614 MtCO 2 e by 2025 and 2030 (to put this into perspective, South Africa emitted 462 MtCO 2 e in 2015 [1]). When the Paris Agreement entered into force in November 2016, this commit- ment became internationally binding. The emission reduction target is adopted from the National Climate Change Response White Paper of 2011. It could therefore be questioned whether this target is in line with current knowl- edge about the global carbon budget and required level of ambition to keep the rise in global average

Take Note!

Increasingly organisa- tions are recognising the actual impact of climate change. Climate change related risk mitigation, as well as maximising oppor- tunities, is becoming central in companies’ business strategies. Mitigation of GHG emis- sions is now an obliga- tion for South African companies.

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12 Electricity + Control

DECEMBER 2017