57 laureates of the Right Livelihood award (often considered the “Alternative Nobel Prize”) have sent a message to UN Stockholm+50 international environmental meeting urging “acknowledgement of ecocide as a crime.” Dozens of laureates of the Right Livelihood award, including household names such as David Suzuki, Vandana Shiva and Greta Thunberg, have signed a message to … [Read more...]
Oil and gas exploration threatens coastal livelihoods
Following President Ramaphosa’s Youth Day speech last week – which mostly focused on the unprecedented high unemployment rate and lack of opportunities – young small-scale fishers, along the coast, say they are concerned that government does not recognise their value as South Africans who are self-employed and trying to create sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their … [Read more...]
Cities lead the way on sustainable mobility
Often referred to as the “greenest city in the world,” Curitiba, Brazil, has long been held as a model for urban sustainability due to its green space, recycling programs, environmental education – and especially its extensive system of dedicated-lane bus rapid transit. But what of the buses themselves? As of 2020, only 4 percent of Curitiba’s buses were hybrid and none were … [Read more...]
South Africans need to cut power ties with Eskom
With 673 hours of darkness in the first six months of 2022 so far alone, this year looks set to overtake 2021’s record amount of load shedding, while energy experts have raised the spectre of unprecedented stage 8 blackouts. And as winter cold sets in and heaters turn up, Eskom has warned of constraints on the national grid and just announced the restart of load … [Read more...]
Loadshedding may be worst by 2026
Meridian Economics has published its Resolving the Power Crisis analysis of SA’s energy sector, which suggests that load shedding may be ten times worse by 2026 and that an additional 5GW of renewable energy capacity could have essentially solved load shedding in 2021 at a cost saving to Eskom. In response to this development Greenpeace Africa Climate and Energy campaigner … [Read more...]
Vaal communities protest dirty steel plant
Long-suffering communities in Sharpeville and Bophelong in the Vaal area have gathered outside ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited’s (AMSA’s) main steel plant in Vanderbijlpark today to protest against ongoing pollution, non-compliance with environmental laws, failure to engage meaningfully with fence line communities and unclear plans to decarbonise AMSA’s operations. The … [Read more...]
It’s time to uproot the DMRE
Solutions to South Africa’s crippling energy and climate crisis exist. Yet they are being blocked by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) under the leadership of Minister Gwede Mantashe. Mantashe’s DMRE is holding back a rapid and just transition to renewable energy - the fastest, most affordable way to solve load shedding. Instead, they are working to lock … [Read more...]
Communities call out questionable oil and gas projects
It has been two years since The Green Connection, under its Who Stole Our Oceans campaign, started working with coastal communities whose livelihoods are being threatened by offshore oil and gas projects. The initiative is focused on protecting the oceans, particularly through opposing offshore oil and gas. In addition, and critical to the campaign, is empowering coastal … [Read more...]
Mining threatens fisheries in the West Coast
Coastal mining along the West Coast is expanding at an alarming rate, increasingly threatening the environment and livelihoods of small-scale fisheries and coastal communities. Currently there are many different companies that have applied for or been allocated permits and right for oil and gas exploration as well as prospecting or mining on coastal land, the beaches, in the … [Read more...]
Revision of SA’s Integrated Resource Plan needed
With legal action in progress against the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), Karpowerships SA and the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, The Green Connection says it is happy that no Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with the companies were signed, today. The Green Connection's Strategic Lead Liziwe McDaid says, “As the climate crisis intensifies, South … [Read more...]
Communities speak out against Wild Coast seismic surveys
In the run-up to next week’s highly contentious court hearings to stop Shell’s seismic surveys and any further bids to explore the Wild Coast for offshore oil and gas, communities in the Eastern Cape are speaking out against traditional leaders who, at the end of April, following secret meetings with Minister Gwede Mantashe (in February 2022), agreed to support oil and gas … [Read more...]
Protecting SA’s oceans from offshore oil and gas
Yesterday, The Green Connection launched its public awareness and information sharing campaign – which is part of a bigger initiative, called Who Stole Our Oceans – in a bid to stop further government investment in fossil fuels, particularly offshore oil, and gas. According to The Green Connection’s Strategic Lead Liziwe McDaid, the goal of the public campaign is to … [Read more...]
Public invited to comment on Bellville’s future
The Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP) urges local residents, businesses, and investors to comment on the City of Cape Town’s draft local spatial development framework (LSDF) for the Bellville Central Business District (CBD). The draft LSDF proposes the City’s vision for the regeneration of the Bellville CBD, the second metropolitan node of the Mother City. Bellville CBD … [Read more...]
