South Africa’s National Treasury has opened a public consultation on proposed guidelines for a Climate Transition Planning and Disclosure Framework, a step intended to give financial institutions practical tools for building and using credible transition plans. The consultation paper lays the groundwork for a framework meant to guide banks, insurers, asset managers and other investors in developing plans that are effective and suited to local conditions, while supporting the financial sector’s response to climate-related risks and opportunities and contributing to the country’s broader climate and development objectives.
Treasury framed the proposed framework around delivery. The shift to a low-emission, climate-resilient economy, the department said, must address the interconnected priorities of climate change mitigation, adaptation and a just transition. At the same time, the framework seeks to align with international good practice while reflecting South Africa’s national circumstances, policy priorities and sectoral realities.
The operational case rests on scale. Treasury estimates that the country’s investment needs for mitigation, adaptation and a just transition will average 4.4 per cent of gross domestic product annually through to 2050. Financial institutions, in this view, have an enabling role in mobilising and directing finance towards that transition.
Implementation, however, depends on more than the institutions themselves. Treasury noted that banks, insurers, asset managers and other investors rely on information from companies in the real economy to assess climate-related risks, evaluate investment opportunities and make informed financing decisions. Effective transition planning within financial institutions must therefore be supported by credible corporate transition plans and a broader enabling environment. That environment, according to the department, includes coherent policy measures, economy-wide incentives, standardised and accessible data, and proportionate guidance that helps institutions build the necessary transition planning capacity.
The consultation paper is structured around three areas. The first covers conceptual and policy foundations, offering an overview of the role of transition plans in managing climate-related risks and opportunities, including relevant international frameworks and emerging good practices. The second assesses the South African context, examining the financial system’s exposure to climate-related risks and opportunities together with the sector’s current level of preparedness for transition planning. The third sets out policy proposals, including a proposed national framework for financial sector transition plans, with core design principles, key features and the enabling conditions required for effective implementation.
Meanwhile, Treasury is seeking input from financial institutions, corporates, industry associations, regulators, policymakers, civil society, academia and other interested stakeholders on the proposed direction and design of the framework. The process, the department said, is intended to help ensure the framework is practical, proportionate and responsive to South Africa’s circumstances, while supporting greater consistency and quality in transition planning and disclosure. In doing so, it aims to reinforce the links between institutional strategy, financial decision-making and national development goals, and to strengthen the financial sector’s capacity to support a just and resilient transition.
The full consultation paper is available at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/have-your-say-climate-transition-planning-and-disclosure-framework. Comments can be submitted to Vukile Davidson at [email protected], with a closing date for submissions of 10 December 2026. Treasury encouraged stakeholders to provide specific and practical recommendations on the proposed framework, including its design, implementation, proportionality and the enabling conditions needed to support credible and effective transition planning across the financial sector. Whether the final framework can translate those ambitions into workable practice will depend in large part on what stakeholders put forward before the December deadline.