Section 2 report – Understanding potential climate change mitigation opportunities. South African national carbon sinks assessment

Abstract

This report was commissioned by South Africa’s National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) with funding kindly provided by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). The South African National Carbon Sinks Assessment is comprised of three principle sections. This report, aimed at assessing the size and nature of climate change mitigation opportunities, forms Section 2. Section 1 of the Assessment focuses on the magnitude and nature of terrestrial carbon stocks across South Africa and how they may change in future due to the influence of changes in land-use, climate and atmospheric carbon dioxide. Lastly, Section 3 reviews the interaction between policy and terrestrial carbon in South Africa, both in terms of the potential influence of existing policy on carbon stocks as well as how policy may be amended to support activities that lead to a net reduction in atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs). Section 2 has five objectives: To identify the principal land-use based climate change mitigation opportunities in South Africa To understand the nature of implementation in terms of required capacity and the institutional and financial context of potential implementing agents To better understand the magnitude and structure of implementation costs To understand the co-benefits and trade-offs and co-benefits implementation, particularly employment opportunities and the effect of implementation on ecosystem services To identify clear roadblocks to implementation that could be addressed by Government in the near term Understanding the dynamics of field-based practitioners and their ability to implement projects, the economic contribution of land-use based climate change mitigation opportunities, and the potential for job creation, trade-offs, benefits and challenges particular to each of the principal implementation opportunities identified over the course of the team’s research. This report has been produced by The Cirrus Group for Evidence on Demand with the assistance of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) contracted through the Climate, Environment, Infrastructure and Livelihoods Professional Evidence and Applied Knowledge Services (CEIL PEAKS) programme, jointly managed by HTSPE Limited and IMC Worldwide Limited