Centre for Environmental Rights – Advancing Environmental Rights in South Africa

TheClimate Change Act 22 of 2024 was assented to by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 23 July 2024 in GN 5050 in GG 50966 of 23 July 2024. The President proclaimed its commencement under section 38 on 17 March 2025, however not all provisions are in force.

Draft versions of the Climate Change Bill

The Draft Climate Change Bill was originally published for comment on 8 June 2018. It’s stated objectives were the following:

• provide for the coordinated and integrated response to climate change and its impacts by all spheres of government in accordance with the principles of cooperative governance;
• provide for the effective management of inevitable climate change impacts through enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change, with a view to building social, economic, and environmental resilience and an adequate national adaptation response in the context of the global climate change response;
• make a fair contribution to the global effort to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that avoids dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system within a timeframe and in a manner that enables economic, employment, social and environmental development to proceed in a sustainable manner.

After amendments to the draft Climate Change Bill made during the Parliamentary process, a revised version of the Climate Change Bill [B9B-2022] was published.