The Department of Environmental Affairs would release South Africa's draft climate change policy for comment by the end of September, said Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica on Tuesday.

She said that she had seen a the draft document at a recent workshop, and this draft, which was based on the country's Long Term Mitigation Scenario (LTMS), would go to Cabinet within the next three weeks.

The draft policy was informed by, the LTMS document and the subsequent deliberations that took place at the climate change summit held in Johannesburg in March.

Comments from the draft ‘zero' policy, as well as any potential agreements reached at the Copenhagen global climate negotiations, in December, would then likely contribute to the Green Paper.

South Africa's national climate change response policy was then set to be developed by the end of 2010, and the related fiscal, legislative and regulatory package is expected to be implemented by 2012.