The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) was considering establishing an air quality index, to make information on the quality of ambient air in South Africa more accessible, DEA national air quality officer Dr Thuli Mdluli said on Tuesday.

She noted that the DEA had shared a draft with its stakeholders in terms of the work that was being done to enable live [air quality] reporting, through billboards to be placed in highly populated areas.

Mdluli said these billboards would also carry health messages, explaining to citizens how safe the current air quality was. 

“For example, if the air quality is bad, it would tell you [to] stay indoors if you are sensitive, like a person with asthma for instance,” she said.

Mdluli pointed out that the roll-out of such billboards would be dependent on the availability of resources; however, the DEA expected some to be in place towards the end of 2016.

Meanwhile, she noted that, while a fair share of South Africa’s cities currently met the set particulate matter standards, once the new, more stringent standard was imposed on January 1 next year, more areas would face compliance challenges.

“This is why we need to focus more resources towards addressing this.”

Mdluli further pointed out that the source of air quality problems differed between areas, adding that, while industrial air quality was easier to control and regulate, noncore sources of pollution, such as the burning of coal and wood in low-income areas, was a challenge.

“[Addressing this] requires a concerted effort,” she stated, noting that the DEA had drafted a strategy to move low-income households towards energy efficiency and greener fuels, which would soon be tabled in Parliament.

Commenting on the national state of air quality in South Africa, Mdluli noted that the country was not compliant with air quality legislation, but there had been improvements over time.

GREENHOUSE-GAS EMISSIONS
Meanwhile, DEA deputy director-general Judy Beaumont noted that South Africa’s greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions were rising and were expected to continue doing so until 2025 as South Africa was a developing country.

She said the increase in emissions was associated with economic growth.

“What we have to do, however, is build in the ability of transitioning to a lower carbon economy.

“So between 2016 and 2020 and 2020 and 2025 [we will be] setting emission reduction objectives that require industry to start reducing its emissions and start bending the curve so that we are able to have its emissions plateau and decline [from 2025 onwards,” Beaumont explained, adding that the DEA expected an absolute decline in GHG emissions by 2035.

Further, on the issue of carbon tax, she said National Treasury and the DEA were finalising an approach to align the proposed carbon tax with GHG emissions objectives set for key sectors and subsectors.

“The carbon tax is one critical and key instrument for reducing GHG emissions, but it is not the only instrument,” she noted.