The mechanisms created under the Act must be implemented in accordance with the principles set out in section 3 and with a view to achieve the Act's objectives set out in section 2.

The Act imposes different duties on different categories of government stakeholders, including organs of state which are required to revise, amend, coordinate and harmonise their policies, laws, measures, programmes and decisions in order to ensure that the risks of climate change impacts and associated vulnerabilities are taken into consideration.

MECs and mayors of metropolitan or district municipalities must undertake climate change needs and response assessments for their provinces and metropolitan or district municipalities and develop, implement and publish climate change response implementation plans.  The assessments must be repeated every five years and the related plans reviewed and amended on the same cadence.

The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (Minister) and other members of Cabinet are required to respectively develop and publish a National Adaptation Strategy and Plan and Sector Adaptation Strategies and Plans. These strategies and plans should seek to reduce the vulnerability of society, the economy, specific sectors and the environment to the effects of climate change, strengthen the resilience of the socio-economic and environmental system and enhance the adaptive capacity of society, the environment, specific sectors and economy to the impacts of climate change.

The Minister (in consultation with the Cabinet) must determine a national GHG emission reduction trajectory for South Africa, being the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions projected to be emitted during a specific period in South Africa The trajectory must be consistent with the objectives and principles set out under the Act as well as South Africa's international obligations. The trajectory must be reviewed every five years, which accords with the time periods prescribed under Article 4(9) of the Paris Agreements.

The Minister must identify GHG emitting sectors and sub-sectors and in consultation with the relevant member of Cabinet determine the prescribed framework and the sectoral emissions targets for sectors and sub-sectors.The sectors and sub-sectors must appropriately reflect the national GHG emissions profile. The sectors and sub-sectors emissions targets must be aligned with the national GHG emissions trajectory and include quantitative and qualitative greenhouse gas emission reduction goals for the first five years, the subsequent five to 10 years and for a 10 to 15 year period thereafter. The sector and sub-sector emissions targets must be reviewed and where necessary revised and amended every five years.

The Minister must publish a notice which provides a list of GHGs which he reasonably believes cause or are likely to cause or exacerbate climate change as well as a list of activities which emit, or has the potential to emit, one or more of the identified GHG. As part of the notice the Minister must set quantitative GHG emission thresholds to identify persons that will be assigned a carbon budgets and who must submit GHG mitigation plans to the Minister and the date on which the notice takes effect. A carbon budget must cover at least three successive five-year periods specify the maximum amount of greenhouse gas emissions that may be emitted during the first five-year period.

A person that is allocated a carbon budget must implement the approved GHG mitigation plan, monitor annual implementation of the greenhouse gas mitigation plan, evaluate progress on the allocated carbon budget, annually report on the progress, and if the person has failed, is failing or will fail to comply with the allocated carbon budget, provide a description of measures the person will implement in order to remain within the allocated carbon budget.

Section 35 of the Act sets out the circumstances under which a person would commit an offence.  Key examples include failing or providing false data, information, documents, samples or materials to the Minister, or failing to prepare and submit a greenhouse gas mitigation plan. A person convicted of an offence is liable to a fine not exceeding ZAR 5 million or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding ZAR 10 million or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

Finally, section 36 empowers persons affected by decisions under the Act to appeal to the Minister against a decision taken by any person acting under a power delegated by the Minister under this Act or an MEC against a decision taken by any person acting under a power delegated by that MEC under this Act. An appeal lodged in terms of this section will be noted and dealt with in accordance with the mechanism set out under section 43(4) of the National Environmental Management Act.

Written by Ernst Muller, Director, Environment, Social and Governance at Herbert Smith Freehills