Britain will increase its funding for a programme to help South Africa develop a carbon trading market in an attempt to decrease the country’s rising greenhouse gas emissions.
The British High Commission in Pretoria will fund a pilot emissions trading programme from next year to help companies prepare for the R120 per tonne carbon tax that is expected to come into effect in 2016.
The grant, which will go to Promethium Carbon, is expected to fast-track the development of a local carbon trading system in preparation for the carbon tax, Reuters reported.
Preliminary study
The commission appointed Promethium to execute a preliminary study in 2013 to determine whether a carbon offset market could complement the tax and help ease costs for industry.
The first phase of the study found that such a market could function. The second phase, expected to be completed by February 2015, will focus on how to start trade and on launching a pilot market on the JSE in 2015.
Promethium estimates that South Africa’s offsets could reach prices of between R80 and R100 per tonne in the first few of years of the market’s existence.
