There is increasing consensus that climate change is real and that its causes and impacts must be governed to preserve the environment and life on earth. Climate change has many dimensions and root causes, several of which require concerted cross-border and supra-national strategies and action plans. This is evidenced by the burgeoning global climate law and governance regime and associated literature. While climate change has always been perceived as being a global environmental issue, the immediate impacts of climate change are decidedly localised. It is pertinent that national governments must design and implement domestic strategies and action plans to facilitate necessary adaptation measures while simultaneously taking measures towards the mitigation of climate change.

Available in updateable loose-leaf format and online, Climate Change: Law and Governance in South Africa provides a comprehensive analysis of climate change, the relevant laws and policies and their intersection with international governance structures.

“This brilliant book covers South African climate change law and governance from all possible angles. It focuses on mitigation and adaptation in all relevant sectors, from energy to agriculture,
and deals with important instruments such as carbon pricing and insurance.” “… this book will provide a valuable and indispensable source of information and inspiration for all those who want to contribute to tackling climate change in South Africa.”
Jonathan Verschuuren - Professor of international and European environmental law
Tilburg University, Netherlands and Extraordinary Professor, Faculty of Law - North West University

• Climate change law and governance: setting the scene
• Scientific aspects and their impacts in South Africa
• Demystifying the global climate change regime
• South Africa, climate negotiations and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• Climate change and the African Union
• Climate change litigation
• South Africa and climate change ethics
• South Africa’s climate change commitments and regulatory response potential
• Water resources management and climate change
• Climate change and coastal zone management
• Urban adaptation
• Local disaster risk reduction and management in South Africa’s response to climate change
• Climate change and insurance law
• Public health perspectives and climate change law and governance
• Climate change and human mobility
• Biodiversity, protected areas and climate change
• Climate change and agriculture
• South Africa’s energy mix – towards a low-carbon economy 
• Waste management in South Africa – challenges and opportunities for climate change mitigation
• Carbon pricing in South Africa
• Climate change and international trade 
• Mining and climate change
• Epilogue: the Paris Agreement and the future of international climate change governance 

• Legal practitioners and the judiciary 
• Environmental consultants and practitioners
• Environmental and climate lawyers
• Students of geographical sciences and environmental law
• Department of Environmental Affairs
• South Africa’s climate treaty negotiators
• Climate change NGOs