The Effect Of The Post-Kyoto Protocol Agreement On South African Businesses

Climate change and all its associated effects are going to have

an effect on South African businesses. It is expected that

Government will commit to a carbon emission reduction programme at

a global meeting of nations in Copenhagen, scheduled for December.

The summit, which is expected to be more widely accepted than its

predecessor, the Kyoto protocol, will lead to the implementation of

new laws that will have an effect on South African businesses.

There is at present little doubt that an agreement will be

reached. The only uncertainty is the shape or form the global

agreement and the resulting legislation will take. The consequence

is that South African companies are at present in the uncomfortable

position of choosing whether to hold off making changes until the

new legislation is implemented and play catch-up with those who

have; or to start predicting the likely changes which are going to

have to be implemented. In addition to this, international markets

are becoming more environmentally conscious, affecting the

expansion efforts of South African companies with large carbon

footprints.

The UN summit in Copenhagen will try to reach global agreement

on how to tackle climate change. During the build up to the summit

we have seen and are likely to hear of political wrangling and

manoeuvring between developed and developing nations, with each

trying...