Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George and trade union UASA have welcomed the Climate Change Bill’s assent into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa on July 23.

“The President’s signing of the Bill into law marks a significant milestone in our nation's commitment to addressing climate change. The Climate Change Act 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.

“This legislation provides a comprehensive framework for climate action across all our society and economy. We are now poised to move forward with its implementation,” he says.  

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 is also expected to strengthen coordination between national sector departments and provide policy setting and decision-making to enable South Africa to meet the commitments in its Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement.

“Through the Act, we aim to show leadership, and we look forward to collaborating with all stakeholders, to ensure its equitable and ambitious implementation,” George stresses.

He also commends the role played by all South Africans in the formulation of the Act.

“As we implement the Act, we welcome the active engagement of citizens, workers and businesses, to move to low-emissions and climate-resilient development,” George highlights.

Meanwhile, UASA spokesperson Abigail Moyo points out that the union, as part of organised labour, has been actively involved in addressing climate change and the Just Transition framework through its affiliation with Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa), a labour participant of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC).

With the new Act passed, UASA says it is proud of Fedusa for adopting its Climate Change Policy in 2021 and the International Trade Union Confederation Just Transition Centre for being awarded the 2024 WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award in recognition of its support for workers’ rights in the global shift towards an environmentally and socially sustainable future. 

Also expressing support was Greenpeace Africa. 

“The signing of the Climate Change Bill by President Cyril Ramaphosa is a significant step in the right direction towards South Africa's commitment to global climate change mitigation. The Bill is timely and welcome, the President is finally acknowledging that the carbon-intensity of our economy is unsustainable and we need to strengthen our adaptation and mitigation measures and also accelerate our decarbonisation efforts. The Bill's proposal to ensure there is cooperation from national level to provincial and municipality level speaks strongly to decentralised climate actions," Greenpeace Africa energy campaigner Cynthia N Moyo says. 

“Addressing the impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups and poor communities should be a priority in South Africa’s climate policies. However, it’s unfortunate that this Bill proposes allocation of carbon credits. Carbon credits/budgets are a false solution and an attempt at greenwashing. The reality is that carbon credits allow big polluters to justify their actions without taking responsibility for their emissions," she warns. 

“The Bill looks effective on paper. We really hope that strong measures will be established soon to support the implementation of this Act," Moyo stresses.

The PCC and environmental organisation the World Wide Fund for Nature on July 23 also expressed their support for the new Act.