Some ethical considerations for South Africa's climate change mitigation approach in light of the Paris Agreement

Abstract

South Africa ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 and thereby committed to reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) concentration levels as part of its self-determined goals in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). This article viewed the targets in the NDC through an ethical lens. It was demonstrated that the commitment below the ‘business-as- usual’ (BAU) level allowed for large increases in South Africa’s emissions without explaining how these were consistent with a specific understanding of what equity required. Also, the NDC targets were found to be highly insufficient. Consequently, South Africa’s climate change mitigation commitments were deemed inconsistent with the ethical ‘no-harm’ principle. 1.