Comment on Draft Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill
The Draft Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill, 2019 was first published for comment on 24 December 2019 (Notice 1706 of 2019, Government Gazette No. 42931). An amended version (B13-2021) of the Bill dated 1 July 2021 is available here.
- On 21 February 2020 the Centre for Environmental Rights submitted comments on the draft Bill in the Centre’s own name and on behalf of our clients, groundWork and Earthlife Africa. Supplementary comments were lodged on 5 August 2020.
- On 30 March 2023, the Life After Coal coalition submitted written comments on this Bill as part of the public participation process conducted by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy.
Our overall submission is that the Bill should not proceed in its current form, if at all. Legislation governing petroleum resources must only be put in place to ensure a just transition from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy.