Government has taken a key step in getting South Africans into smaller, greener cars, or onto buses . But the new taxes and incentives may not be nearly enough in a country that is among the top 20 emitters of greenhouse gases in the world.City buildings, probably the biggest polluters worldwide, have escaped any punishment from finance minister Trevor Manuel in the 2008/2009 budget.
Yet buildings contribute more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere - 24% of the total - than motor vehicles' COČ emissions, says SA Green Building Council MD Nicola Douglas.
"Australia has financial incentives for buildings that get a green star rating," she says. "SA's star rating is modelled on Australia's [but] we seem to have a history of [buildings] being left out of incentives.
"To be fair, we have been contacted by some government departments, which have asked us for data, so we should get some formal attention to green building incentives in the future," she adds.
Air travel also gets off lightly in this year's budget, with departures tax increasing from R120 to R150 for international flights and from R60 to R80 for local travel - amounts that are hardly likely to deter travellers and help save the environment.
However, petrolheads and 4 x 4 enthusiasts will be hit hard, with the cost of fuel-hungry cars set to soar. It's bad news for the motoring industry, which has been hit hard by the slump in the economy.
Consumers will pay an extra 12% in emissions tax on any vehicle producing more than 300 g/km in emissions.
That means an extra R50 000 for a new Hummer H3 (producing 396 g/km), R110 000 for a 12-cylinder Audi A8 (353 g/km), and about R350 000 more for a Lamborghini Murcielago 147 (495 g/km).
You'll pay 4%, or about R15 000, on a 2,5 litre Subaru Legacy (195 g/km) and nothing extra for a diesel Volkswagen Golf or Citroen C4, both at 117 g/km (see table).
There will be some relief from the emissions tax in a reduction of ad valorem excise duty on vehicles.
Drivers will be further hit by a higher fuel levy from April 1. The levy on petrol goes up by 23c/litre to R1,50/litre and by 24c/litre to R1,35/litre for diesel. The road accident fund levy increases by 17,5c/litre to 64c/litre on the same day.
Then there's a new R3 tax on incandescent light bulbs, meant to encourage South Africans to convert to energy-saving alternatives. But the washable cloth bags beloved of greens aren't likely to become mainstream just yet - the tax on plastic bags has increased from 3c to a still-low 4c.
More of an incentive is a 115% accelerated depreciation allowance for companies investing in renewable energy and biofuels. This should speed up investment in the biofuels industry.
Then there's carbon trading, where Manuel says take-up has been slow. To assist carbon trading, income from selling primary emission reduction certificates will now either be tax-free or charged at capital gains rates only.
