National Climate Change Response Policy White Paper (NCCRP)

The National Climate Change Response Policy is a comprehensive plan to address both mitigation and adaptation in the short, medium and long term (up to 2050). GHG emissions are set to stop increasing at the latest by 2020-2025, to stabilise for up to 10 years and then to decline in absolute terms.

Strategies are specified for the following areas:
- Carbon Pricing
- Water
- Agriculture and commercial forestry
- Health
- Biodiversity and ecosystems
- Human settlements
- Disaster risk reduction and management

The policy has two main objectives: first, to manage inevitable climate change impacts through interventions that build and sustain social, economic and environmental resilience and emergency response capacity. Secondly, to make a fair contribution to the global effort to stabilise GHG concentrations in the atmosphere.

The Policy specifies strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation, making use of the short-, medium- and long-term planning horizons (up to five years from publication of policy, up to 20 years, up to 2050, respectively). The White Paper outlines a risk-based process to identify and prioritise adaptation strategies and interventions that have to be taken in the short and medium term, while reviewed every five years.

Concerning mitigation, it includes proposals to set emission reduction outcomes for each significant sector and sub-sector of the economy based on an in-depth assessment of the mitigation potential, best available mitigation options and a full assessment of the costs and benefits using a 'carbon budgets' approach. It also proposed the deployment of a range of economic instruments, including the appropriate pricing of carbon and economic incentives, as well as the possible use of emissions offset or emission reduction trading mechanisms for those relevant sectors, sub-sectors, companies or entities where a carbon budget approach has been selected.

Energy Efficiency and Energy and Demand Management flagship programmes cover development and facilitation of an aggressive energy efficiency programme in industry, building on previous Demand Side Management programmes, and covering non-electricity energy efficiency as well. A structured programme will be established with appropriate initiatives, incentives and regulation, along with a well-resourced information collection and dissemination process. Local governments are encouraged to take an active part in demand-side management.

There is a short-term transport flagship programme, which aims to facilitate the development of an enhanced public transport programme to promote lower-carbon mobility in five metros and in ten smaller cities and create an Efficient Vehicles Programme with interventions that result in measurable improvements in the average efficiency of the vehicle fleet by 2020. The planned rail recapitalisation programme is considered an important component of this Flagship Programme due to its projected contribution to modal shifts of passengers and freight. The programme further introduces a Government Vehicle Efficiency Programme that will measurably improve the efficiency of the government vehicle fleet by 2020, by setting procurement objectives for efficient technology vehicles such as electric vehicles.

In the medium term, the plan calls for significant up-scaling of energy efficiency applications in transport; and for promoting transport-related interventions including transport modal shifts (road to rail, private to public transport) and switches to alternative vehicles (e.g. electric and hybrid vehicles) and lower-carbon fuels.

The principles of the White Paper include prioritising co-operation and the promotion of research, investment in and/or acquisition of adaptation, lower-carbon and energy-efficient technologies, practices and processes for employment by existing or new sectors or sub-sectors. All fields and flagship programmes include a key element of research and development, data collection and analysis tools in their respective areas.

Adaptation efforts are prioritised, acknowledging the vulnerability of the country. Adaptation efforts will require: early warning and forecasting for disaster risk reduction; medium-term (decade-scale) climate forecasting to identify potential resource challenges well in advance; and long-term climate projections that define the range of future climate conditions. Adaptation strategies are to be integrated into sectoral plans, including: The National Water Resource Strategy, as well as reconciliation strategies for particular catchments and water supply systems; The Strategic Plan for South African Agriculture; The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, as well as provincial biodiversity sector plans and local bioregional plans; The Department of Health Strategic Plan; The Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements; and the National Framework for Disaster Risk Management.

In order to monitor success of measures, South Africa will, within two years of the publication of the policy, design and publish a draft Climate Change Response Measurement and Evaluation System.