Part I

 Definitions and general provisions relating to imposition of carbon tax

1. Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates-

“allowance” means any amount allowed to be taken into account in terms of Part II, subject to section 14, for the purposes of determining the amount of carbon tax payable;

“carbon budget” means an amount of greenhouse gas emissions permitted, against which direct emissions arising from the operations of a person during a defined time period will be accounted for;

“carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent” means the concentration of carbon dioxide that would cause the same amount of radiative forcing (the difference of sunlight absorbed by the Earth and energy radiated back to space) as a given mixture of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases;

“carbon tax” means a tax on the carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions imposed in terms of section 2;

“combustion” means the exothermic reaction of a fuel with oxygen;

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service;

“emission factor” means the average emission rate of a given greenhouse gas for a given source, relative to the activity data of a source stream assuming complete oxidation for combustion and complete conversion for all other chemical reactions;

“emissions” means-

(a)     the release of greenhouse gases or their precursors; or

(b)     the release of greenhouse gases and their precursors,

into the atmosphere, over a specified area and period of time;

“emissions intensity” means an indicator of the result of the measurement of the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions in relation to an activity;