South Africa’s carbon tax: Aim to ensure zero waste to landfill

  1. South Africa has recently introduced a carbon tax. The carbon tax aims to reduce 34% carbon emissions by 2020 and 42% emissions by 2025.
  2. The carbon tax also seeks to ensure zero waste to landfill and boost investments for low carbon alternatives.
  3. A carbon tax is a type of carbon pricing. A carbon tax directly sets a price on carbon by defining a tax rate on greenhouse gas emissions or on the carbon content of fossil fuels.
  4. Another form of carbon pricing is the emissions trading systems (ETS), also referred to as the cap-and-trade system. ETS caps the total level of greenhouse gas emissions and allows those industries with low emissions to sell their extra allowances to larger emitters.