An investigation of South Africa's policy response to climate change in the context of sustainable development goals

Abstract

Climate change is recognized as one of the environmental challenges with disastrous consequences for the human well-being. Hence, there is no doubt that climate change is not only a great environmental concern, but also a developmental challenge that overlaps at many levels. Accordingly, the global community sees climate change and sustainable development as two major challenges of the 21st century that require urgent collective action. The aim of the study was to investigate and analyse South Africa’s policy response in addressing climate change, also considering the added dynamics and imperatives presented by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (AfSD) that enshrines 17 interwoven Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. In order to fulfil this task, five research objectives were developed; namely: (i) to determine the extent to which the South African government has been involved in domesticating and localizing the SDGs agenda (in general) since its birth in January 2016, (ii) to identify policies and institutions dealing with climate change mitigation (including sustainable consumption and production) and document the provisions of such policies, (iii) to determine policy coverage and institutional spread regarding the addressing of climate change adaptation and adaptive capacity, (iv) to audit and present an inventory of institutions and major financial arrangements existing as means of implementing climate change policy in South Africa, and (v) to establish measures in place to improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity development on climate mitigation and adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. A research methodology was adopted which took the form of evaluation research. This research approach is mostly used in large bureaucratic organizations such as government to determine the extent to which a programme or policy is effective. The research design followed a Mixed-Methods Research (MMR), which combines qualitative and quantitative approaches. Primary data was collected from purposefully selected respondents, who participated in the online survey and face to face interviews. The analysis of data entailed the reduction and display of data. Data reduction and display made it possible to code, create themes and concepts; as well as enable the study to make cogent inferences and rational conclusions. In addition, primary data was complemented by document analysis that scrutinized relevant documents to climate change and sustainable development. The study concluded that South Africa has taken reasonable steps to achieve the SDGs because the National Development Plan (NDP) which is aligned to the SDGs was already being implemented. The study also showed that South Africa has put in place institutional mechanisms to implement the SDGs, even though it took longer to put them in place and have them operationalised. The study concluded that South Africa has policies and strategies designed to respond to climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, there are several challenges inherent in the policies and strategies that make them ineffective, including policy implementation inertia. While the study confirmed that there are institutions in place to implement climate change policies and strategies; it emerged that capacity is concentrated at the national level, as opposed to the provincial and local government levels, and relies on few experts which makes the system vulnerable and fragile. Regarding funding for both climate change and the SDGs, it emerged that South Africa does not budget enough money, and relies heavily on international donations. The study further revealed that there is dissatisfaction with the public’s involvement in climate change management in the country. It also highlighted the need to improve early warning systems and preparedness to respond to extreme weather events. Hence, the study suggests that there is a need for a serious introspection with regard to the implementation model to ensure that the issues raised by the study are resolved.