Climate goals in doldrums

TRANSITION: SA STRIVES TO RAISE MONEY

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'Incoherent policies' could cause nation to miss the targets it agreed to.

South Africa is falling short of its ambitious targets and commitments to combat and prepare for climate change, an advisory body appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa has said.

SA may miss the emission-reduction targets it agreed to as part of an international treaty and deepen inequality in what is already the world's most unequal nation, the Presidential Climate Commission said in a report released yesterday.

"South Africa has strong commitments toward tackling climate change and facilitating a just transition," the body, which was established in 2020, said in its inaugural report.

"Incoherent policies, weak governance structures and mixed actions by social partners are hindering progress at the pace and scale required."

The report comes at a time when SA, the world's 15th-biggest producer of climate-warming greenhouse gases, is struggling to raise adequate finances to transition away from coal.