Climate change mitigation and air quality management are mostly addressed separately in South African
legal acts and policies. This approach is not always coherent, especially in the context of other serious
issues South Africa is facing, such as poverty alleviation. Policies implemented to mitigate climate
change might increase negative health affects due to unanticipated outcomes (e.g. increased local air
pollution), and these indirect consequences must therefore be taken into account when devising
mitigation strategies. However, greenhouse gas mitigation policies can also have co-benefits and
positive impacts on local air pollution. An evidence-based approach that takes into account greenhouse
gas emissions, ambient air pollutants, economic factors (affordability, cost optimisation), social factors
(poverty alleviations, public health benefits), and political acceptability is needed tackle these
challenges. A proposal is made that use of an integrated climate/air pollution techno-economic
optimising model, such as the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Synergies (GAINS) model, may provide a
rational decision support tool to guide policy makers into effective strategies for combined Climate
Change and Air Quality mitigation measures.