In their July 21 protest, Sierra Club and Healthy Gulf argued Driftwood Pipeline's single precedent agreement must be made public.

The jailing of Zuma on July 8 led to widescale protests, which began in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal and has now spread to other regions.

"We need much stronger policies, and faster," van Hulst said at a Euractiv virtual panel debate.

Heavy industries are concentrated in the northern provinces that may need to buy carbon allowances from southern provinces, Peng Wensheng, Chief Economist at China International Capital Corp, said.

The EU carbon allowance prices under the EU Emissions Trading System rose to an all-time high on July 1, after leaked draft documents showed details of EU legislation to revamp the carbon market, which was to be unveiled by the European Commission on July 14.