When Albert Pati moved closer to the sea to open a beach bar overlooking the Mediterranean in Albania, he never imagined that the sea would also be moving closer to him, now eroding the soil around his restaurant floor. Even before the outbreak of Covid-19, families and businesses around the Adriatic Sea were faced with a serious threat. One of the countries hardest-hit by … [Read more...]
Celebrating the end of Mad March
What a month March has been! First we had a burglary and my son was assaulted in the house in the middle of the day. My life changed in an instant. Nothing can be as intense for a mother as having your child’s life threatened. How are people so brazen to commit crimes in broad daylight? Why did my big and uber defensive German shepherd not protect him? Was she drugged? How I … [Read more...]
Deep adaptation: hope and vision in the face of collapse
As someone who worked in environmental campaigning and then organizational change, I learned about the role of hope and vision in helping to align and motivate people. As someone who worked at the heart of political communications during the 2017 UK General Election campaign, I’m also aware of the power of a positive narrative when told well, consistently and authentically. In … [Read more...]
Climate Change Bill published for comment
The Draft Climate Change Bill was published for comment earlier this week. It’s stated objectives are the following: provide for the coordinated and integrated response to climate change and its impacts by all spheres of government in accordance with the principles of cooperative governance; provide for the effective management of inevitable climate change impacts … [Read more...]
South Africa’s “aspirational goal” on adaptation
South Africa’s goal on adaptation is to build resilience and adaptive capacity to respond to climate change risk and vulnerability; whilst providing guidance on the integration of climate change responses into current and future development objectives; through optimising policy, planning, and implementation coherence of climate change adaptation actions. The draft National … [Read more...]
Adaptation is the only fair way to tackle climate change
As COP20 concludes, climate consultant Mike Edwards argues that delegates need to consider the need for ‘adaptation’ as well as ‘mitigation’. In early November 2013, I was in San Francisco teaching a cohort of business graduates a course I had cheerily titled: 'Global Crises'. As it was early in the course, I was setting the scene with an introduction to climate … [Read more...]
Climate change happening now on every continent
Climate change is no longer a projected future scenario, it is happening today on all continents and across all the oceans, said the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday in Yokohama, Japan, at the launch of a report which is “one of the most ambitious scientific undertakings in human history.” The world is ill-prepared for the risks from changing … [Read more...]
A political stalemate for the environment
Could climate adaptation be blocked by a political stalemate at local government level? “Local government is doing more than we think, but they are not doing enough,” said Lorena Pasquini (pictured), postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cape Town (UCT), in her lecture ‘Hot, or Not: Local Government and Climate Change Adaptation.’ Hers was the second in a series of … [Read more...]
Plans for 100% renewable energy in SA
As international climate change negotiations are renewed, South African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) is calling on our government to turn to policies driven by science and ethics, not political and economic expediency; and to expand South Africa’s own renewable energy revolution. Scientists have recently revealed that the damage from climate change is … [Read more...]
Delaying climate action a crime of global proportions
Decisions resulting from the UN COP17 climate summit in Durban constitute a crime against humanity, according to Climate Justice Now, a broad coalition of social movements and civil society. Here in South Africa, where the world was inspired by the liberation struggle of the country’s black majority, the richest nations have cynically created a new regime of climate … [Read more...]
What are local governments going to do now?
At the Durban Local Government Convention, 114 Mayors and other elected local leaders representing over 950 local governments from around the world have adopted the Durban Adaptation Charter, a political commitment to strengthen local resilience to climate change. The Durban Local Government Convention: adapting to changing climate towards COP17/ CMP7 and beyond, ran in … [Read more...]
COP17 groups say Africa must reject carbon markets
Over 100 civil society organizations from Africa and around the world sent a letter earlier this week to African negotiators attending the UN global climate talks in Durban, calling for them to reject efforts to place agricultural soils within a carbon market. Countries in Durban will consider whether to advance a separate agriculture work program within the global climate … [Read more...]
Durban pioneers initiative ahead of COP17
Ahead of the opening of the COP17/CMP7 Conference on climate change in Durban on Monday 28 November, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres, performed her first ‘official’ function at the launch of the Durban CEBA (Community Ecosystem-Based Adaptation) Initiative at Durban’s Paradise Valley at the weekend. The … [Read more...]
