South Africa's National Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Regulations, 2016: Mandatory GHG Disclosure for Large Emitters

Introduction

South Africa’s National Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Regulations, 2016 (NGERs) were made under sections 12 and 53 of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004 (NEM:AQA) and published in Government Gazette 40762 as General Notice 275 on 3 April 2017, coming into force the same day. The regulations establish a single national system for mandatory, facility-level GHG reporting. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is the “competent authority” responsible for implementation, supported by the web-based National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory System (NAEIS) and its GHG module, the South African Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting System (SAGERS). The regulations build on South Africa’s National Climate Change Response Policy (2011). They also underpin South Africa's National GHG Inventory and reporting to the UNFCCC and provide the emissions data used for carbon tax assessments and future carbon budgets under South Africa’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).

Emissions Measurement and Reporting Requirements

The NGERs’ purpose is to introduce “a single national reporting system for the transparent reporting of greenhouse gas emissions” to: update and maintain the national inventory; meet UNFCCC obligations; and inform legislation and policy. Key reporting obligations, mainly for Category A data providers, include:

• Register facilities where Annexure 1 activities exceed the prescribed thresholds, within 30 days of the regulations’ commencement or of starting such an activity, via NAEIS (or, if unavailable, by electronic submission to DFFE).

• Submit annual GHG emission and activity data for all relevant greenhouse gases and IPCC source categories listed in Annexure 1 of the regulation, in the Annexure 3 format, by 31 March for the preceding calendar year (or the next working day if 31 March is a weekend/public holiday).

• Ensure completeness by covering all process, fugitive and combustion emissions from all emission sources and source streams linked to Annexure 1 activities, considering capacity thresholds.

• Keep records for at least five years of all underlying data, calculations, algorithms and procedures used to estimate emissions, and make them available to the competent authority on request.

Reports are to be submitted via NAEIS / SAGERS as the default platform and must follow approved methodologies and tiers (typically 2 or 3 for major categories) as set out in the Technical Guidelines for Monitoring, Reporting, Verification and Validation of GHG Emissions by Industry, themselves aligned with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines.

Category B data providers (organs of state, research and academic institutions) must submit relevant emissions or activity data in the specified format when requested by DFFE.

Penalties and Enforcement for Reporting Non-Compliance

The regulations create specific offences tied to core reporting and registration duties including the provision of false or misleading information to the competent authority. A person convicted of such an offence faces:

• For a first conviction – a fine up to R5 million (USD 292,000) or up to five years’ imprisonment, or both.

• For a second or subsequent conviction – a fine up to R10 (USD 584,000) million or up to ten years’ imprisonment, or both.

In addition, the competent authority may require independent verification at the data provider’s cost, conduct on-site verification and validation, and compare data against other facilities and independent sources. These verification powers, combined with the linkage between NGER data and the Carbon Tax Act, create strong financial and regulatory incentives for accurate and timely reporting.

Current Status

As of late 2025, the NGERs, as amended by GN R994 of 11 September 2020 and subsequent notices, remain in force and form the backbone of South Africa’s mandatory GHG reporting regime. Methodological and verification guidelines issued under NEM:AQA (including the 2021 verification guideline and 2022 methodological guidelines) continue to refine quantification and assurance requirements. Data reported under the NGERs feeds into the official National GHG Inventory (2000–2020 and beyond), supports the Carbon Tax Act, and will be central to implementing the Climate Change Act 22 of 2024, including draft carbon-budget and mitigation-plan regulations.

Resources

• National Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Regulations, 2016.

• Amendment Regulations (GN R994 of 11 September 2020, GG 43712).

• Technical Guidelines for Monitoring, Reporting, Verification and Validation of GHG Emissions by Industry – methodological guidance aligned with 2006 IPCC Guidelines, used for NGER reporting.

• Technical Guidelines for the Validation and Verification of GHG Emissions (NEM:AQA) – official verification framework for NGER data.