{"id":871533,"date":"2026-08-22T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=871533"},"modified":"2026-08-21T17:10:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T15:10:31","slug":"extreme-weather-warning-for-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/energy\/871533\/extreme-weather-warning-for-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Extreme weather warning for South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Gas Bill is currently in Parliament, but passing it into law could lead to more extreme weather events in South Africa, which are becoming increasingly prevalent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is according to the non-profit The Green Connection, which has called for the Bill to be withdrawn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bill was introduced to Parliament in March 2026 and aims to modernise the natural gas sector and repeal the outdated Gas Act of 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It looks to encourage infrastructure investment, support liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, and strengthen the regulatory oversight by NERSA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Green Connection said that the Bill could expose South African consumers to volatile international gas prices and weaken protection for communities and landowners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also warned that it could give the Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, sweeping new powers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NPO added that the Bill is not aligned with South Africa\u2019s\u00a0Climate Change Act and would worsen weather conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natural gas is mainly made up of methane, which is a well-known potent greenhouse gas that\u00a0contributes significantly to global warming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Green Connection noted that the Bill also makes no requirements to monitor, report or limit methane leaks across the gas value chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bill’s proposal comes amid heightened concerns over extreme weather in South Africa, with destructive events such as floods becoming more frequent and causing billions in damage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSouth Africa has recently experienced severe cold conditions and snowfall in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and other provinces,” said the Green Connection\u2019s Advocacy Lead, Lisa Makaula. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“While individual weather events cannot simply be attributed to climate change, scientists have established that a warming climate is increasing the likelihood and intensity of many types of extreme weather.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While large parts of South Africa were recently hit by unusual snowfall, the nation is now expected to enter a drought due to a Super El Ni\u00f1o, which is anticipated to be worsened by climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Bill makes no reference to the Climate Change Act, South Africa\u2019s emissions targets or the just transition,” said Makaula. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It also treats liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a clean or transition fuel, despite growing scientific concern about methane emissions and the climate impacts of expanding fossil-fuel infrastructure.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minister’s powers extended <\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Green Connection has also raised concerns that the Bill could reduce precious public safeguards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Green Connection\u2019s Outreach Ambassador, Neville van Rooy, said that repealing the current Gas Act would put protections at risk, such as notification of affected people and local-language advertising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Too risky for the people, the proposed Bill leaves many of these matters to ministerial discretion, without guaranteeing that equivalent protections will be put in place,” said Van Rooy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Bill would also give the Minister broad powers, including to determine which activities require licences, granting exemptions and deciding whether to expropriate land.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He warned that concentrating power in the hands of the Minister and weakening oversight and public participation could allow for crucial national decisions to be made without input from those affected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Land rights, including customary and informal land rights, are also a concern, as the Bill would allow the Minister to initiate expropriation, while removing some safeguards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current act does allow for expropriation at the request of a licensee, but this must follow a public hearing and include compensation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We urge Parliament to withdraw the Bill and reconsider whether expanding imported gas infrastructure is consistent with South Africa\u2019s climate commitments and broader social and economic objectives,” said Makaula. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“However, should Parliament decide to proceed, the Bill requires substantial amendments to ensure that it is aligned with the Climate Change Act and national emissions targets.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Activists have warned that the Gas Bill currently before Parliament could lead to further severe weather if enacted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":858828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"failed","_sma_x_autopost_error":"Instagram publishing failed: Instagram returned HTTP 400: Media ID is not available","_sma_x_post_id":"2091027848379105546","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2183195052500894","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9874],"tags":[1164,22763,26252,26251],"class_list":["post-871533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-eskom","tag-minister-of-electricity-and-energy-kgosientsho-ramokgopa","tag-the-gas-bill","tag-the-green-connection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=871533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":871540,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871533\/revisions\/871540"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=871533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=871533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=871533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}