South Africa

NDC Status 

South Africa submitted its updated NDC in September 2021. 

Key highlights from the NDC 

• South Africa’s updated mitigation targets represent a significant progression from the first NDC : the country commits to a fixed target for greenhouse gas emissions levels of 398-510 MtCO2e by 2025, and 350-420 MtCO2e by 2030, compared to 398 and 614 Mt CO2e between 2025 and 2030 as communicated in the first NDC.  
• The revised NDC includes the country's first adaptation communication with elaborated measures on adaptation.
• In its updated NDC, South Africa has also set the goal to reach net zero emissions by 2050 in its Low-Emission Development Strategy. 
• South Africa aims to access significantly higher levels of climate finance during the periods of implementation of the NDC, with a view to achieving a floor of USD 8 billion per year by 2030.
• UNDP's Climate Promise work in South Africa is specifically focused on gender mainstreaming into NDC implementation, with emphasis on creating an enabling policy environment for gender-responsive climate action. UNDP also supports initiatives that empower and capacitate youth on climate issues.

Adaptation and resilience areas in the NDC

• Transport
• Agriculture
• Energy
• Settlements
• Biodiversity
• Water