Multilevel governance for climate change in South Africa
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URBAN-LEDS COUNTRY FACTSHEET
Multilevel governance for 2020
climate change in South Africa
Summary FACTS & FIGURES
The South African governance
system, defined by the Constitution
of 1996, specifies the mandate of
the three spheres of government:
national, provincial and local.
Recent laws and policies, including
the Draft Climate Change Bill
(2018), give a larger mandate to
Per capita greenhouse gas
local governments when planning
emissions (2015):
for climate action and responding
to local challenges. This evolution 9.5 CO2e
of the legal framework, the rapid Governance structure:
deployment of renewable energy Three-tiered,
solutions throughout the country, as
well as the increasing importance
parliamentary
of the national debate on just republic.
energy transitions create an ideal Human Development Index:
opportunity for strengthened
vertical and horizontal coordination
113/189 (2018)
and cooperation for effective % urban population:
climate change response in South 66% (2018)
Africa.
The Vertical and Horizontal Dimensions of Multilevel
Governance for Climate Change
New project
resource
This diagram has
been produced by the
Urban-LEDS project
to show the important
components of multi-level
governance for climate
change action. Only by
supporting systems of
collaboration between
and within national
and local government
can we ensure climate
change can be tackled
successfully while meeting
development goals.
Urban-LEDS Country factsheet: South Africa
Enabling framework #1:
National policies and strategies Other key national
The South African NDC is characterised by its absolute emission
documents and
reduction targets, rarely observed in other NDCs, and its ambitious strategies
adaptation component. Governance arrangements for NDC
implementation and revision are still being finalised. However, there is
an opportunity to build on existing mechanisms, such as the Provincial Draft Climate Change Bill:
Climate Change Forums and Compact KZN in KwaZulu-Natal to ensure Eleven years after the Climate
a greater representation of the voice of local governments. Change White Paper and eight
years after the National Climate
Change Response Policy, the
NDC priority areas Climate Change Bill should
Involving local governments in drafting be adopted in 2020. The Act
and revising South Africa’s NDC distributes the responsibility
Adaptation: drafting for climate planning and action
Cities and Regions Talanoa Dialogues a National Adaptation between the national, provincial,
Plan, integrating and local levels of government
are inclusive and transparent dialogues
climate change into and states that subnational
designed to take stock of and strengthen
development and sector governments should “undertake
national climate plans. Two took place
planning, building a climate change needs and
in South Africa in 2018. These Dialogues institutional capacity
revealed that subnational governments response assessment for the
and developing climate
have not sufficiently been involved in province or municipality”.
risk management
the process of drafting the NDC nor and emergency and
informed about the content of the recovery responses. Draft South African Low
national text. Emission Development Strategy:
Mitigation: South The Strategy was developed by
The results of these Talanoa Dialogues African greenhouse gas the Department of Environment,
have been captured in ICLEI Africa’s (GHG) emissions should Forestry, and Fisheries (DEFF)
publication: Talanoa Dialogue in Africa, peak by 2025, plateau in 2018, according to the
advancing coordinated action between between 2025-2035 provisions of the article 4.19 of
national, subnational and international and decline thereafter the Paris Agreement. The text
actors (2018) within a range of 398 to acknowledges the contribution
614 Mt CO2e.
of local governments to national
mitigation and adaptation efforts.
The National Development
Plan (NDP) is a long-term
development plan which aims
to guide and frame all policy
and planning for the country
up to 2030. Chapter 5 of the
NDP, states that by 2030 South
Africa will have transitioned to
an environmentally sustainable,
climate-resilient, low-carbon
economy and just society. In
2019, the National Planning
Commission organised provincial
consultations with civil society,
business, government, labour,
communities and experts in order
to develop concrete proposals for
pathways to achieve this vision.
They have been compiled into a
report, submitted to the national
government in November 2019.
The first National Project Advisory Group (NPAG) meeting organised during the “Financing the future
we want” Summit with representatives from national government and seven Urban-LEDS II cities,
May 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Urban-LEDS Country factsheet: South Africa
Enabling framework #2:
Integrated climate data systems
In 2019, the DEFF appointed the South African Desk research and assessments conducted under
Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) to the Urban-LEDS project revealed the need to clarify
develop the National Climate Change Information mandates of the different levels of government for
System (NCCIS): an integrated and unified climate data collection on GHG emissions and mitigation
reporting system including data on adaptation, actions. The adoption of the Draft Climate Change Bill
mitigation and climate finance, collected at all levels (which encourages, but does not compel, local and
of government. This online platform, which will be provincial governments to conduct GHG inventories),
publicly available in March 2020, integrates data from as well as the popularisation of the NCCIS, should
several sources including the national and provincial contribute to the streamlining of the process.
climate change response databases. Through the
Urban-LEDS II project, ICLEI Africa is exploring
ways to integrate data from the CDP-ICLEI unified
reporting system into the NCCIS.
Key trend: Rapid deployment of decentralised renewable energy solutions
Since 2012, South Africa has been solutions, however, is negatively affecting
experiencing a rapid uptake of municipal revenue, which largely relies
renewable electricity. Despite this, coal on the sale of electricity. Mandatory grid
still accounted for 85.7% of electricity connection fees and associated feed-in
generation in 2016. 23GW of new tariffs are being introduced or explored by
renewable capacity is planned by 2030. several municipalities.
Despite this, municipalities’ mandate In February 2020, the government
remains limited to distributing energy, announced that municipalities in good
not generating energy. Energy insecurity financial standing will be able to procure
and shortages since 2008, as well as their own electricity from Independent
ever-increasing electricity tariffs, have Power Producers, the majority of which
Solar panels are installed on a community prompted municipalities to increasingly current deploy renewable energy. If fully
centre in Steve Tshwere Local Municipality,
South Africa, during phase I of the Urban-
adopt and encourage private small-scale implemented, some municipalities will be
LEDS project. embedded generation systems. The in a position to have greater control over
increased number of off-grid energy their greenhouse gas emissions trajectory.
Enabling framework #3: GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE
Climate finance
The carbon tax
Currently, municipalities are not to support the transition to a low
the most common beneficiary of carbon, resource-efficient, and The carbon tax was officially
climate finance. The government climate-resilient development path introduced on 1 June 2019. During
is currently working on a National delivering high-impact economic, the first phase of its implementation
Climate Change Finance Strategy, environmental, and social benefits (from June 2019 to December 2022),
mandated by the Climate Change (also at the subnational level). only those who own or control direct
White Paper. The strategy focuses DBSA provides financial support sources of emissions (known as
on attracting international funding (grants, loans or equity) for green “scope one emissions”) will be taxed.
and investment and defining the cities and towns, low carbon Depending on various factors, tax
allocation of resources to support economy, environmental and payables will range between $0.41
and $3.30 per ton of carbon dioxide
climate change work. natural resource management.
equivalent.
Some mechanisms to facilitate In October 2018, the Bank was
There remains a lot of uncertainty
access to climate finance are awarded $55.6 million from the about the ultimate impact of the
already in place. The DEFF has Green Climate Fund (GCF) to set carbon tax on local governments.
set up the National Green Fund, up a $140 million Climate Finance This is expected to be clarified by the
implemented by the Development Facility to support private sector National Treasury, which is committed
Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), investment in climate action in to evaluating the costs and benefits
South Africa. before the next phase is rolled out.
Urban-LEDS Country factsheet: South Africa
Opportunities for enhancing multilevel governance
There are several opportunities to strengthen • Explore new roles for South African local
implementation of climate change responses at all governments in the national energy transition
spheres of government: The energy landscape is changing and local
governments are progressively challenging the
• Strengthen the national climate change current model. Alternative business models have
information system Motivate local, provincial, been developed globally and could inform the
and national government to take ownership of the South African energy transition.
NCCIS tool. Circulating climate information between
the different spheres of government is key to •
Strengthen existing subnational platforms on
Urban champion
ensure vertical integration of climate change. climate change Some platforms connecting local,
national and international stakeholders on climate
• Mainstream national climate policy into local change already exist, such as the ICLEI-CDP unified
Every other newsletter, we hand over the mic to local government staff in Urban-LEDS cities, so they can tell you their story of
plans and vice versa The content of national reporting platform, but need continued financial and
promoting low-carbon development in their municipalities
climate policies – including the NDC – needs to be political support to guarantee their sustainability.
incorporated into the local Integrated Development
Plans (IDPs), while local climate and energy plans • Support the implementation of the
need to inform national plans and policies (e.g. the recommendations for a just energy transition The
IRP). National Planning Commission’s recommendations
Roberto Cláudio Rodrigues
include an increased role of local actors in the
Bezerra
• Foster access to decentralised climate finance The governance of the just energy transition in South
National Climate Finance Strategy should consider
Mayor of Fortaleza
Africa.
ways to facilitate access to climate finance for local
governments and build their capacity to absorb the
funding once mobilised.
transport revealed to be the largest
sources of emissions, Fortaleza has
begun to introduce incentives for public
transport, and is implementing a waste
management plan that involves the public
and private sectors. In 2018, the city was
The Urban-LEDS II project
the winner of the Sustainable Transport
Award of the
TheInstitute for Transport
Urban-LEDS II project
and Development
addresses Policies (ITDP), for
integrated low
the implementation
emission of andgood practices
resilient
in sustainable transport and
development traffic than 60
in more
The City of Fortaleza in Brazil faces transformation of a city does not depend safety andcities
is setin
to8host the Mobilize
countries.
challenges like many large cities: fast and on one person – the mayor - but is led International Congress in June 2019.
disorganized growth, public demands by the implementation of public policies It is implemented by UN-Habitat
for security, housing, education and that engage all sectors in a city, and its and
In this new ICLEI
phase – Local Governments
of Urban-LEDS,
health, and the threat of climate impacts. entire population. “My expectation is to for Sustainability.
Fortaleza has The
reached a level of project is
maturity
Roberto Cláudio, the Mayor of Fortaleza, leave the seed of a future legacy that fundedknowledge
and accumulated by the European
that, Union.
a coastal city in the north-eastern could change the way in which the citizen according to the mayor, will allow the
regional of Brazil, has the responsibility to of Fortaleza looks at the environment Acknowledgements
them to take bigger steps on the path
manage these challenges. and the development of the city”, he This factsheet is based on
to low carbon development. Now, their
mentioned. research and has been drafted
great ambition is to create a plan to adapt
One of the reasons why Roberto Cláudio to climateby Melissa
change, whichKerim-Dikeni (ICLEI
aims to create
got involved in politics, he says, was For the Mayor, the first phase of the Africa).
more inclusive Edited
public by Rebecca
policies, generate
to make a difference in people’s lives. Urban-LEDS project was a learning Cameron
jobs and, at the same(ICLEI
time, Africa),
drive the
Married, a father of two daughters, opportunity, which included the Evgenia
achievement Mitroliou
of sustainable (ICLEI World
development.
and a doctor by profession, his career creation of the city’s first inventory of Secretariat) and Steven Bland
included a long period working in public GHG emissions and an accompanying and about
Find out more Aida Guardiola (UN-Habitat)
Fortaleza’s Urban-
health policy. He believes that the reduction plan. With waste and LEDS phase 1 achievements in this video
Urban-LEDS ll cities in South Africa together at the Financing the future we want Workshop in May 2018.
For more information on the Urban-LEDS project;
www.urban-leds.org contact@urban-leds.org @ICLEI, @UN-HABITAT
Disclaimer: The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.
The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
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