The Regulation of Renewable Resources to Promote Energy Efficiency in Sustainable Buildings in South Africa: A Legal Analysis

Abstract

Claims associated with the environment increasingly influence the area of human and fundamental rights. It is widely acknowledged that a direct well-designed relationship exists between the search for achieving environmental protection generally, and the protection of environmental rights. Since local government operates closer to citizens (the principle of subsidiarity) than any other level of government, it is obvious that it may be expected of it to also play an important role in the management and regulation of matters that affect the environment. This study questions the extent to which legislation governing the use of renewable and natural resources assist in developing sustainable building as provided for in South African environmental and local government legislation. This study provides a theoretical literature review of energy efficiency, categories of and different perspectives on environmental rights in general. The notion of local environmental governance is also attended to in this literature review. This study highlights one way in which South Africa can become more energy efficient, namely by applying sustainable building in the local context. The South African National Standards (SANS) 10400-XA: 2011 finds its application specifically on environmental sustainability and energy usage in buildings. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p2224