South Africa, which is hosting the next round of global climate change negotiations in Durban later this year, would work to strengthen environmental and climate change policies over the next three years and would aim to secure global and private sector funding for green interventions.

In the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), the National Treasury also stated that it was considering environmental monitoring linked to appropriate fiscal instruments and capacity support interventions.

The R25-billion competitiveness support package over the next six years to boost industrial development, would also build on several broader programmes, including the country’s transition to a green economy.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said the alignment of trade, investment and energy policies would support the transition, including private sector participation in the country’s renewable energy programme.

“Improving environmental management and addressing climate change resilience are key policy objectives,” the MTBPS stated.

The country increased its spend on environmental protection at an average yearly rate of 11% from R38.5-billion in 2008/9 to R52.4-billion in 2011/12.

Government has also, through assistance provided to municipalities and power utility Eskom, and Eskom’s electricity-generation tariff, made available more than R6-billion between 2008/9 and 2012/13 for energy efficiency and electricity demand-side management initiatives.

This funding has been used to install energy efficient lighting, subsidise solar water heating systems and improve energy efficiency in buildings.

The MTBPS alluded to several medium-term challenges to supporting environmental sustainability, one of which was skills.

The Treasury explained that inadequate skills to handle a range of environmental functions, particularly at municipal level, for example, in issuing authorisations for households and businesses to use technologies that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, hampered environmental sustainability.

However, Treasury pointed out that larger municipalities were becoming more responsive to environmental concerns, citing the City of Cape Town’s intention to buy electricity from a wind farm, and the eThekwini municipality’s plans to produce electricity from landfill gas, as examples.