CARBON OFFSET REGULATIONS GAZETTED

THE NATIONAL Treasury said in a statement yesterday that it had gazetted the Carbon Offset Regulations. South Africa is the world’s 14th largest emitter of carbon dioxide and a signatory to the 2015 Paris Accord that aims to transition to a low-carbon future. The Carbon Tax Act was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa in May and came into effect from June. The Treasury said it had published for public comment two further sets of regulations, Draft Regulations for the Trade Exposure Allowance for purposes of Section 10 and Draft Regulations for the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity Benchmarks for purposes of Section 11 in terms of Section 19(b) and (a) of the act, respectively. “The National Treasury will ensure that the final regulations are gazetted by the first quarter of 2020, to be aligned with the greenhouse emissions reporting period of the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.” The Treasury said to ensure a cost-effective transition, the design of the tax provided for the recycling of revenues through the electricity generation levy credit and energy efficiency savings tax incentive, and significant tax free-allowances of up to 95 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions to firms. It said that the trade exposure allowance aimed to assist companies that potentially faced competitiveness pressures while the performance allowance sought to encourage firms to reduce the carbon intensity of their production processes and promote the competitiveness of local products.