Environmental Diplomacy in the News
SA identified as a green tax trailblazer
By Sue Blaine
SOUTH Africa been identified by audit, tax and advisory service firm KPMG International as a world leader in using tax as a tool to drive sustainable corporate behaviour and achieve green policy goals, in a report yesterday.
South Africa is poised to become the first African and second Brics country to introduce a direct carbon tax, but the Treasury’s plan to start direct carbon taxation on January 1 2015 has its detractors, who argue that South Africa’s economic situation is not yet robust enough to absorb the tax.
South Africa was the 13th-most active of the 21 major global economies indexed in the first KPMG Green Tax Index, launched at the 2013 KPMG Asia Pacific Tax Summit in Shanghai, China.
Research Areas
Africa and the International Politics of Climate Change
Emerging Powers, Africa and Natural Governance
South Africa, Climate Change and Environmental Diplomacy
About the Programme
Environmental degradation and the frequency with which the effects of climate change are being felt are increasingly evident. Yet, while attention has been given to the science and economics of climate change, there has been limited engagement on the diplomacy...
Read more...Aims
- consider Africa’s strategic position in the international environmental regime;
- contribute to knowledge development and capacity...
News Roundup
-
In The News 12-05-2013South Africa: Steele - 'South Africa Should Do More to Curb Carbon Emissions'
A conference on climate change is underway in Berlin to discuss the need to cut on carbon emissions by developed countries. Despite Africa contributing little carbon emissions, it has suffered the consequences.
Carbon emissions could rise to 58 gigatonnes by 2020 if no drastic action is taken without delay, the United Nations environmental agency (UNEP) said in its Emissions Gap Report 2012. This figure is far above the level scientists say and it is in line with keeping global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit). DW spoke to Melita Steele, Climate Campaigner for Greenpeace Africa.
Read more... -
In The News 12-05-2013East Africa: Make-Believe Environmental Standards
Tanzania and some East African countries have established environmental standards. It is a good step towards creating a health environment in the East African Region. But it is difficult to believe that Tanzania implements any of the standards.
For example, who monitors the Air Quality Standards for Tanzania in Arusha? In particular, who monitors the presence of the poisonous metal called Lead? Does anybody monitors the presence of harmful quantities of sulfur oxides, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, suspended particulate matters or black smoke based on the limits of pollutant levels specified in the Air Quality Standards for Tanzania? Where are official reports on the status of the substances in the environment? You may ask.
Read more... -
In The News 12-05-20133 Encouraging Signs of Progress from the Bonn Climate Talks
A slight breath of fresh air entered the UNFCCC climate negotiations this week in Bonn, Germany. Held in the old German parliament—which was designed to demonstrate transparency and light—the meeting took on a more open feel than the past several COPs and intersessionals.
Instead of arguing over the agenda, negotiators got down to work, discussing ways to ramp up countries’ emissions-reduction commitments now and move toward a 2015 international climate action agreement. Reaching these two goals is imperative. It was encouraging to hear delegates make progress across three key issues involved in achieving them:
Read more...
Follow the IGD
By A Web Design
