南非《气候变化法案》的立法进展及启示

Legislative Progress and Implications of “South Africa’s Climate Change Act”

非洲是世界上受气候变化影响最大的地区之一,南非经常遭受干旱、洪水和极端天气事件影响,气候变化已成为南非的经济和社会发展的巨大阻碍。南非在2018年公布了《气候变化法案(草案)》,旨在建立有效的气候变化应对措施,并确保向气候性和低碳的经济社会长期、公正地过渡,该法案规定与气候变化有关的所有事项。目前,已经在国民议会进行了两次讨论,表明该国对气候变化立法的重视,对南非气候变化背景、影响和国家气候治理体系进行分析,结合法案的进展得出南非气候治理上还存在执行人员能力有限和财政资源不足、经济社会影响评估存在困难、公众参与和协商以及相关政策实施缺乏一致性、连贯性和协调性等问题,其立法过程的经验教训可以为我国气候变化立法提供启示。

Africa is one of the regions of the world most affected by climate change, and with South Africa regularly suffering from droughts, floods and extreme weather events, climate change has become a huge impediment to the country’s economic and social development. South Africa published the Climate Change (Draft) Bill in 2018, which aims to establish an effective response to climate change and ensure a long-term, just transition to a climate-friendly and low-carbon economy and society, and which provides for all matters relating to climate change. Currently, it has been discussed twice in the National Assembly, indicating the importance that the country attaches to climate change legislation, analyzing the background of climate change in South Africa, its impacts and the national climate governance system, and combining the progress of the bill to conclude that South Africa’s climate governance is still characterized by the limited capacity of executives and insufficient financial resources, the difficulties of economic and social impact assessment, public participation and consultation, and a lack of consistency in the implementation of relevant policies. The lessons learned from the legislative process can provide inspiration for China’s climate change legislation.