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Environmental newsletter, Edition 1 - South Africa

  • Africa
  • South Africa
  • Environment
  • Infrastructure

01-08-2019

Welcome to the first edition of the Eversheds Sutherland (South Africa) Environmental Newsletter

South Africa’s Environmental Laws are extremely complex, despite the implementation of the “one environmental system”, and compliance requires sound, dedicated resources, regardless of whether your business operates in the highly regulated Mining and Natural Resources Sector, or any other sector, in South Africa.

At the heart of environmental compliance with South Africa’s Environmental Laws, is the Constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to both health or well being and to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation, promote conservation, and secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources, while promoting justifiable economic and social development.

More commonly spoken of, is the “duty of care”, contained in Section 28(1) and Section 28(1A) of the National Environmental Management Act, No. 107 of 1998 (“NEMA”). Recent developments have placed significant focus on the “duty of care” and what it means, within the context, particularly, of historical activities that have resulted in pollution and ecological degradation.

While most companies understand, or at the very least, are aware of the “duty of care”, many companies only truly get to understand what the “duty of care” means, when faced with enforcement action by the regulators, community activism, and, as BP recently discovered, through private prosecution.

In this, our first edition of the Environmental Newsletter, we address the private prosecution of BP, the newly enacted Carbon Tax Act, the proposed Financial Provision Regulations 2019, and the Waste Exclusion Regulation, 2018.

We hope that you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed preparing them for you. View the full newsletter online.

Financial provision regulations

Private Prosecution of BP Southern Africa

Businesses take note: The Carbon Tax Act is coming into effect

Waste exclusion regulations 2018 - moving towards a circular economy

Themba Khumalo, Partner
Glynn Kent, Senior Associate

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