South Africans want CEO and government polluters to pay – study
85% of South African respondents believe it should be a criminal offence for leaders of large businesses or senior government officials to approve or permit actions that they know are likely to cause serious environmental damage.
This was one of the key findings of the latest Global Commons Survey 2024 conducted by market research group Ipsos and commissioned by Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance.
The study surveyed 22,000 participants across 22 countries, including 18 G20 countries and four countries outside the G20 (1,000 participants per country).
The survey included respondents from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, plus four countries outside the G20: Austria, Denmark, Kenya, and Sweden.
G20 countries represent about 85% of the global GDP, 78% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
Earth4All said that the results “captures growing concern about the state of nature, awareness of planetary tipping points, and the demand for stronger environmental protections to safeguard our planet for future generations.”
71% of citizens in 18 G20 countries surveyed believe the world needs to act immediately, within a decade, to reduce carbon emissions from electricity, transport, food, industry and buildings.
This rises to 91% of Mexicans, 83% of South Africans and 81% of Brazilians surveyed. This belief is lowest – but still over half of respondents – in Saudi Arabia (52%), Japan (53%), the United States (62%) and Italy (62%).
Owen Gaffney, co-lead of the Earth4All initiative, said that “the message to politicians could not be clearer… the vast majority of people we surveyed in the world’s largest economies believe major immediate action is needed this decade to tackle climate change and protect nature.”
South Africa findings
Of the nations surveyed, South Africa sits above the G20 average for respondents who are “extremely / very / somewhat worried” about the state of nature today and the state in which we will leave nature for future generations (93% worried).
This saw the answers of South African respondents consistently sit above the overall average of the nations surveyed, indicating a larger prioritisation of climate-related issues.
Looking at some of the key results, 78% of South African respondents indicated strong support for the prioritisation of a “wellbeing economy,” which advocates that the functioning of the country’s economy “should prioritise the health and wellbeing of people and nature rather than focusing solely on profit and increasing wealth.”
Seventy-nine percent of South African respondents agreed that addressing climate change and environmental damage can bring “many benefits” to people in the country, while just 24% believe that the country’s government is doing enough to deal with these issues (below the 33% G20 average).
A notable 85% believe that it “should be a criminal offence for leaders of large businesses or senior government officials to approve or permit actions they know are likely to cause damage to nature and climate that is widespread, long term or cannot be reversed.”
This is the second-highest behind Kenya (91%).
Seventy-seven percent believe human activities are bringing the Earth close to critical environmental tipping points, while 67% think the costs of environmental damage far outweigh the investments needed for a green transition.
Additionally, 83% of South African respondents indicated that “major action” needs to be taken to reduce carbon emissions from electricity, transport, food, industry, and buildings.
Meanwhile, 31% believed that many of the claims about environmental threats “are exaggerated.”
The full report can be found here.
South Africa climate legislation
The Climate Change Bill was recently signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa – which is set to greatly impact the private sector in South Africa with penalties for non-compliance.
“The Act establishes, for the first time, a comprehensive South African legal framework for the regulation of the impacts of climate change, with the ultimate overall goal of achieving net-zero by 2050,” explained legal experts at Bowmans Claire Tucker and Marga Jordaan.
Broadly, South Africa is looking to act on its various international climate agreements, which aim to limit global temperature increases to below 2°C, seeking a target of 1.5°C by transitioning toward a low-carbon economy.
Previously, laws required industries to report annually on their pollution prevention efforts if they emit significant greenhouse gases.
Now, the new laws shake things up.
As Ramaphosa describes, it “enables the alignment of policies that influence South Africa’s climate change response, to ensure that South Africa’s transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy and society is not constrained by policy contradictions.”
Some of the key provisions of the Act include:
- Mitigation: Establishing a national greenhouse gas (GHG) emission trajectory, requiring several Ministers to develop and implement measures to address climate change through sectoral emission targets, and mandating major emitting companies to comply with mandatory carbon budgets.
- Adaptation: Involving cooperation with provincial and local governments and communities to address climate adaptation challenges.
It is important to note that the Act will only come into operation on a date fixed by the President by proclamation in the Government Gazette.
Read: South Africa backs global climate deal to kiss fossil fuels goodbye
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