Climate Change Bill urgent as SA grapples with natural disasters

Despite being faced with a myriad of catastrophic natural disasters, with KwaZulu-Natal still reeling from the impact of the 2022 floods, South Africa faces the consequences of delaying the passage into law of the Climate Change Bill, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy is warning.

The country for years lacked a regulatory mechanism requiring government departments to work cooperatively to address climate change – despite being a signatory to the Paris Agreement.

Creecy was addressing the parliamentary portfolio committee on forestry, fisheries and the environment during the department’s responses to submissions on the Bill.

Its aim is to enable the development of an effective climate change response and a long-term, just transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy.

The Paris Agreement – a legally binding international treaty on climate change – was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in France in 2015 and entered into force in 2016.

Creecy said the Bill “should have been before the National Assembly many years ago”.

“The urgency of our situation is so dire that we are already living through a process of consequences of climate change. At the moment there is nothing of a regulatory nature that requires any government department to work cooperatively on climate change.

“There is no requirement for provinces and municipalities to work on climate change. If you don’t have this enabling environment, what began as a slow onset event is going to become more rapid – finding us not adequately prepared,” cautioned Creecy.

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She added: “This Bill is the outcome of the public hearing process and we have also worked together to effect changes to it. We are trying to effect these changes in such a manner that we will not fundamentally be altering the Bill.

“If we were to do that, we would have to take it back to Cabinet – back to a process of public participation and bring it back to you again. The consequences would be that this Bill would not go through this parliamentary term.

“We do need this Bill aiming to create an enabling environment. It is within this context that we are trying to accommodate amendments to the Bill, trying to ensure we can enable this law to be passed in this parliamentary term.

“Starting from scratch will mean the extreme event that you are referring to will become more extreme. We will not be able to cope with these extreme weather events appropriately. When one is appointed as a minister, MEC, mayor or MMC, one is given a responsibility for the implementation of certain pieces of legislation. Part of the reason why we require this legislation is so that there is a requirement in government that we start doing something about climate change.

“The Paris Agreement requires us to do three things about climate change: come up with a strategy to reduce greenhouse gases, adapt to the inevitable realities of climate change and find the finances. Without this Bill, we cannot implement the Paris Agreement.”

She said the department has been “working for many years, implementing the Paris Agreement on a voluntary basis, in different levels of government”.

“Because we work hard, consult and have built good relations, we got quite a lot done without this legislation being in place.

“But the reality is that the implications are starting to affect everybody and we require this regulatory environment.

“It is not necessary to have a special money Bill for the Climate Bill because the Climate Bill will enable different levels of government and administrative departments to start to budget for the responsibilities.

“And budgeting in government is always a competitive process, because there are other priorities and challenges. It becomes necessary that everybody will be involved in the budgeting process.

One of the responsibilities of ministers is to make sure that legislation under their control is properly financed,” she said.

Creecy described the Presidential Climate Commission as “functioning quite well”.

“It has done public participation processes, advised government, raised the profile of climate issues and has brought different actors to the table.”