Institutional Strengthening support to South Africa on the Institutionalisation of the Climate Change Mitigation System tools to support the implementation of its NDC

The Initiative for Climate Action Transparency was established in 2015 at the COP that adopted the Paris Agreement to support implementation of the Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework. The Initiative works with over 40 developing countries ranging from large countries, like China, to small islands, such as Antigua & Barbuda.

ICAT provides countries with tailored support and practical tools and methodologies to build robust transparency frameworks needed for effective climate action in sync with national development priorities. The projects ICAT supports relate to: building or enhancing transparency frameworks for mitigation; building a monitoring and evaluation approach for adaptation; building or enhancing frameworks to track progress in implementing nationally determined contributions; assessing the impacts of climate policies;  estimating or enhancing projections of greenhouse gases; integrating and/or aggregating climate actions at the subnational level and for non-State actors; building a tracking system for just transition processes; establishing or enhancing a climate data system; and putting in place a framework to track climate finance.

To support these areas, ICAT offers a suite of practical, open-source tools and methodologies to provide effective support to the transparency efforts of countries around the world.

Cities, regions and businesses are key drivers of climate change mitigation and fundamental players in the implementation and achievement of national climate goals.  A better understanding of climate actions at different scales and by different actors can support the development of realistic and comprehensive targets, support effective policy planning to achieve the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, and help countries identify key subnational and non-state approaches that can be scaled up.

South Africa signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the World Resources Institute (WRI) cooperation in the field of climate change in March 2023. The overarching purpose of the MoU is to support the South African National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and provincial governments to develop and institutionalize MRV tools for the successful implementation of the country’s NDC and to improve transparency of action. The MoU has identified priority activities for implementation for the DFFE/WRI 2023/2024 collaboration cycle, which include an ICAT supported project titled “Implementation of ICAT supported project: Analysis of the GHG impacts of committed/ pledged non-state or sub-national actions”. The key priorities outlined in the above ICAT supported project include the supporting South African government in the development of sub-national (provincial) climate change monitoring and evaluation  system (PCCIS), capacity support on sub-national GHG inventory compilation, provincial target setting to enhance sub-national contribution to NDC commitment and the tracking of aggregated GHG emissions at national level.

The South African government is legislating the Climate Change Bill. The bill is a key step towards a coordinated, integrated national response to climate change and a just transition to a low-carbon economy. The Bill sets out the institutional arrangements to ensure harmonization of climate-related policies, plans, programmes, and decision-making processes. Implementation takes center stage, with provincial and municipal governments required to establish Climate Change Needs and Response Assessments to serve as blueprints for climate action. One of the most significant features of the Bill is the determination of SA’s GHG emissions trajectory. This provides emissions reduction targets, which align policy with SA’s international obligations, including sector-specific targets to guide the economic transition. It is imperative that sub-national governments (provinces) adopt their targets to assess their level contribution in achieving national targets. It also provides for setting up of sectoral and sub-sectoral emission reduction targets (SETS); and the allocation of carbon budgets (CBs) to companies conducting listed activities and meeting the stipulated emission threshold. The Climate Change Bill defines SETs as the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, either qualitative or quantitative, applicable to sectors or sub-sectors over a period. The CBs is determined for a 5-year period and is reviewed every 5 years in line with the country’s NDC implementation phase.   

In 2020, South Africa submitted its Low Emission Development Strategy 2050 to the UNFCCC, which represents the country’s mitigation action roadmap for the transformative de-carbonization towards the achievement of net zero by 2050.  The country’s updated NDC, submitted to the UNFCCC in September 2020, notes that the South Africa’s greenhouse gas inventory has consistently improved in its coverage and in the detail and quality of estimation of greenhouse gases, however considerable uncertainties remain in estimating GHGs and further notes the underlying data gaps, particularly in the land sector.

South Africa received support from the World Resources Institute (WRI) in 2018 to develop the National Climate Change Information System (NCCIS) as part of a national effort to enhance domestic MRV frameworks. The NCCIS is a national platform for tracking the country’s transition to a lower carbon economy and climate resilient society. The NCCIS tracks information on emission reductions, achieved, observed, and projected climate change, impacts and vulnerabilities, the impact of adaptation and mitigation actions, financial flows and technology transfer activities. South Africa’s monitoring and evaluation approach accords high priority to continuous learning and improvements, and puts emphasis on a bottom-up approach to gather data from sub-national governments and other stakeholders to feed into the national monitoring and evaluation system. 

The current key capacity constraints areas have been identified in collaboration with sub-national governments (provinces), and this project seeks to address these gaps. The project will provide crucial tools for the provinces to comply with the Climate Change Bill. Key amongst these are the development of the GHG emissions trajectory and the implementation of the Carbon Budget (CB) and the Sectoral Emissions Targets (SETs) defined in the bill.

The project is consistent with national and provincial priorities as reported in the third National Communication to the UNFCCC as well as to the 2019-24 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF), which provides a 5-year plan for the government to deliver on the National Development Plan mandate. Over and above, the project will assist the country to develop informed positions for international climate change negotiations; identify and address gaps and needs so as identify opportunities in climate action.