DFFE's efforts to implement Climate Change Act hit by funding shortfall

Daily Maverick

23-04-2025

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment asked for R704m to implement South Africa's new Climate Change Act, yet received just R10m (earmarked solely for hosting G20 meetings).
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) requested R704-million from the National Treasury for the implementation of the Climate Change Act, in addition to other funding requests for its 2025 three-year spending plan. However, only R10-million was granted — for hosting G20 environment meetings in 2025.
The DFFE revealed this during an oversight meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Environment, Forestry and Fisheries on Tuesday, as officials presented their 2025/26 annual performance plans.
The Climate Change Act, promulgated in March, sets out how South Africa will tackle climate change and transition towards a more sustainable, low-carbon economy.
On Tuesday, DFFE Director-General Nomfundo Tshabalala told Parliament, 'Whatever we had last year, this year, we have even less, and there's more responsibility that is expected of the department, but we are engaging the National Treasury. Unfortunately, due to constraints, they could not allocate those resources.'
That was the harsh reality the department faced after officials from its nine programmes outlined their plans for environmental reform, job creation and coastal economic transformation.
On the funding required and what had been received, Tshabalala said, 'I would want to believe that the National Treasury is yet to respond comprehensively. It may not be in the 25/26 year, but for the future, we believe that they can.
'Currently, we are implementing whatever is possible and plans on the table using our existing budget. But we also try to tap into available donor funding, which then can enhance the existing programmes.'
Maesela Kekana, the deputy director-general of climate change and air quality management at the DFFE, said, 'We are continuing the discussions with the Treasury. They've guided us on what to do around the business case. Once that is concluded, the Treasury will be able to look at that and either provide the amount or part of the amount. But we are not there yet.'
Coastal provinces prioritised
On the sidelines of the briefing, Tshabalala told Daily Maverick, 'The major funding that will be required for the Climate Act is ensuring that municipalities on the ground respond and are able to put together their responsive plans. That is quite critical. For us, that's a priority, and those responsive plans must be funded.'
The department needed to work closely with municipalities and prioritise the provinces hard-hit by the impacts of climate change: KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
'It's mainly the coastal [provinces] that are affected by climate change as far as issues of weather go. We do have, to a certain extent, fires, but the fires are also mainly in the Western Cape,' said Tshabalala.
She said the other provinces would not be left behind. 'We need to ensure that we are taking every province along in ensuring that they have responsive plans in place in order to adapt, firstly. Adaptation is critical.'
Tshabalala said the department was working on sectoral emission targets for seven high-emitting sectors to align with SA's greenhouse gas reduction commitments.
Kekana, in his presentation, said that these had been submitted to the minister for consultation, given that the Act had been promulgated.
'It's no longer voluntary. It's mandatory. We need to monitor that, working very closely with the National Treasury,' said Tshabalala.
Some work still needs to be done on the deferred sections of the Act. 'We are doing all that work so that we are ready to promulgate the remaining parts,' said Tshabalala.
With a spate of extreme weather events and natural disasters hitting SA in recent years, Tshabalala said: 'Around disasters, we don't have funding to assist the communities. Disaster funding is centralised out of Cogta [Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs], working together with the Treasury, and those provinces and entities affected by disasters can then have access to that funding.'
The DFFE's funding requests to the National Treasury
The department's deputy directors-general had to provide costs for all the programmes they highlighted on Tuesday, and align the resources to indicate their priorities.
The department submitted several additional funding requests to the National Treasury during the 2025 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), after which it received a revised preliminary allocation letter on 24 March, in line with the Budget that is now going through parliamentary processes.
The DFFE requested R45-million from the National Treasury to carry out its G20 duties and mandate.
The DFFE estimated the cost of implementing the Climate Change Act at R704-million over the 2025 MTEF, but Tshabalala said, 'No resources have been allocated for this, so we have to fund it from existing resources.'
In terms of the Presidential Employment Stimulus, a letter to the National Treasury and the Presidency was submitted requesting funding of R1.129-billion over the 2025 MTEF.
The DFFE's Waste Bureau had asked for R3.2-billion over the MTEF, but was allocated only R1.5-billion — a shortfall of R1.7-billion.
Tshabalala said the National Treasury had allocated additional funding of just R10-million, solely for the hosting of the G20 meetings.
This shouldn't have been surprising, as when he opened the briefing on Tuesday, Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Dion George said that in addition to the annual performance objectives, 'delivering a successful G20 is top priority.'
The department has hosted one virtual meeting for the Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group under South Africa's G20 presidency. The next two meetings, according to the department and minister, will be at Kruger National Park in July and Cape Town in October. DM