South African president signs into law climate change bill

JOHANNESBURG, July 23 (Xinhua) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the Climate Change Bill, which seeks to set out a national response to climate change, including mitigation and adaptation actions, the presidency said on Tuesday.
“The Climate Change Act enables the alignment of policies that influence South Africa’s climate change response to ensure that South Africa’s transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy and society is not constrained by policy contradictions,” the presidency said in a statement.
The law also sets out to enhance the country’s ability and capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build climate resilience, while reducing the risk of job losses and promoting opportunities for new job opportunities in the emerging green economy, according to the statement.
The law has the aim of strengthening coordination between national sector departments and providing policy setting and decision-making to enable South Africa to meet its commitments in Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement as the country is one of more than 190 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change who are parties to the Paris Agreement, the presidency said. ■