SATI Beyond The Bunch 3rd Quarter 2026

The South African situation

The Carbon Tax Act At the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, South Africa committed to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 42% by 2025. The Carbon Tax Act (Act 15 of 2019) was introduced to help achieve this goal. South Africa’s emissions peaked around the time of the Copenhagen summit. They had dropped by nearly 20% by 2022, partly due to the unreliable electricity supply and poor economic performance. However, the Carbon Tax Act and substantial investment in renewable energy have since kicked in, and emissions continue to decline. Implementation of the Carbon Tax Act has been slow, and our rate is lower than most other carbon taxes or carbon markets. It is also lower than the World Bank’s recommended rate needed to limit global warming. Agriculture appears set to enjoy exemption from carbon tax until at least 2035. However, the exemption isn’t permanent, and, as discussed above, agriculture may become subject to CBAMs, which would negate any carbon-tax savings within South Africa. Therefore, growers would do well to start tracking their emissions, so they have the data they need once carbon taxes come into effect. Sectoral emission targets South Africa is a signatory to the 2015 Paris Agree ment, an international treaty adopted at the 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference. This agreement aims to limit global warming through emission reductions, and signatories are legally bound to set reduction targets. As a result, South Africa promulgated a Climate Change Act (Act 22 of 2024) in 2025. Among other provisions, the Act empowers the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to set sector-specific emission targets that allow South Africa to meet its international commitments. Sectoral emission targets are the basis of carbon budgets. Sectors must determine their greenhouse gas emissions and compare these to their budgets. If they are in the red, they must submit a mitigation plan to the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. The Ministry will revise the emission targets every five years. Agricultural greenhouse-gas emissions represent roughly 10% of South Africa’s total. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

is responsible for developing agricultural emission targets and implementing policies and measures to meet them. The Department published preliminary targets in 2024 and is currently revising these based on stakeholder inputs. Once the Department has targets, it must share the carbon budget among the various agricultural commodities. From there, the Department will probably leave balancing these budgets to industry organisations such as SATI. Within the agricultural sector, livestock generates more than two-thirds of emissions. The other third is mostly from soil disturbance, fertiliser applications, and fuel use. In future, the table-grape industry will need to find ways to reduce emissions from these three sources. Mandatory carbon accounting From January 2026, carbon-intensive companies (for example, coal mining, oil and gas production, electricity generation, cement and glass production, and food and beverage manufacturing) must comply with the Draft National Greenhouse Gas Carbon Budget and Mitigation Plan Regulations. These Regulations support the implementation of the Climate Change Act (Act 22 of 2024). For now, they apply to companies that emit greenhouse gases equivalent to more than 30 000 tonnes of CO 2 annually. These are typically medium- to large manufacturers or logistics companies. Under the regulations, companies must submit and implement mitigation plans. They must report progress yearly and may face higher carbon-tax rates, fines, or other penalties for non-compliance. As with the European CSRD, the Draft National Greenhouse Gas Carbon Budget and Mitigation Plan Regulations are unlikely to affect table-grape growers directly in the short term. However, they may have indirect impacts, such as data requests from local retailers or cost increases from local suppliers. The Draft Regulations also show that the South African government takes climate change seriously and expects businesses to do the same.

BEYOND THE BUNCH • 7 • QUARTER 3 • 2026