2019-w753 - 18 April 2019

To support tracking of domestic climate change policy imperatives, South Africa, as a Non-Annex I Party to the UNFCCC, prepares and regularly updates a National Greenhouse Gas Inventory which provides an account of current emissions levels and trends. The latest official greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, approved officially by the late Minister of Environmental Affairs and submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), covers a period of 2000 – 2012. However, the Department has prepared preliminary GHG estimates for the period 2000 – 2015, which have gone through an independent review and public consultation process. Thus, in responding to the question raised, the preliminary estimates of 2000 – 2015 are provided by the sector. In terms of South Africa’s GHG inventory, four sectors are covered, and these include the Energy Sector; Industrial Processes and Product Use Sector; Agriculture Forestry and Other Land Use Sector; as well as the Waste Sector.

According to the 2000 – 2015 GHG inventory, the net emissions are currently 510 694,09 Gigagrams of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (GgCO2eq). The Energy Sector contributed 84% of these emissions in the year 2015.

The table below provides a breakdown of the 4 sectors and their respective contributions to the national emissions profile across the time series of 2000 – 2015.

The table below provides the emissions for the base year 2000, the 2012 GHG inventory and the year 2015. It also provides the changes in emissions, in terms of emission levels and percentage, for each of the four sectors.

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