A groundbreaking analysis of satellite data from 1 June to 31 August this year reveals the world’s largest NO2 air pollution hotspots across six continents in the most detail to date. Greenpeace analysis of the data points to coal and transport as the two principle sources of air pollution, with Mpumalanga in South Africa topping the chart as the world’s largest NO2 hotspot … [Read more...]
Busting the “clean coal” myth: why coal can only ever be dirty
“Clean coal” is promoted as the lifeline that will allow governments to continue to depend on coal for energy generation. But there is no such thing as “clean coal”. South Africa is the biggest coal producer in Africa. Over the past 10 years alone, we have produced an average of 254 million tons of coal per year. 70 million tons of the coal we produce is exported, and the … [Read more...]
It’s time to break free from fossil fuels
There has never been a better time to break free from fossil fuels. Record-breaking global temperatures, plummeting fossil-fuel prices, historic investments in renewable energy, and global pressure to honour climate pledges are all coming together to create the ideal setting for this world-changing shift. The shift could not be more urgent. The United Nations climate … [Read more...]
Dirty coal shown red card by India’s Supreme Court
Green activists on Wednesday cheered the Supreme Court's decision to cancel 214 coal blocks across many states in India and urged the government to spare forest areas from mining while auctioning new blocks in future. Stating that the "dirty coal is shown the red card today", Greenpeace India that has been protesting against clearances to the Mahan coal blocks of Madhya … [Read more...]
Eskom’s chokehold on air and power
Eskom’s recent announcement of its September 2013 interim results show that the utility’s profit margins fell slightly to R12.2 billion, but the major news was the resignation of CEO, Brian Dames. It seems like a change in leadership for the utility is an incredible opportunity for a change in direction towards renewable energy, because the reality for both the utility and … [Read more...]
Eskom up for worst corporation award
Eskom is in the running to win the international award for this year’s worst corporation in the annual Public Eye Awards, taking place parallel to the World Economic Forum. The power utility supplies 90% of South Africa’s electricity needs through its 18 coal-fired power stations. Eskom has applied for two-thirds of its coal-fired power stations to be exempt from and/or … [Read more...]
Cities show their climate change commitment
The international Earth Hour City Challenge is giving South Africa's cities the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to addressing climate change. The Challenge was launched by WWF South Africa last month and is designed to reward cities long-term efforts to combat climate change by registering their data on the carbon Cities Climate Registry (cCCR). The Registry … [Read more...]
Carbon Trading: answer to SA’s energy crisis?
Balancing the climate change issue with sustainable energy and the threat of carbon shortage is no easy task for South Africa, but carbon trading might just help. South Africa relies very heavily on coal for electricity generation and for powering the cement-and-steel-manufacturing industries. Although the entire South African region is host to some of the world’s largest … [Read more...]
World Bank to stop financing coal projects
The World Bank plans to stop providing financial support to new coal projects, unless the developments take place in poor countries where alternatives like renewable energy would be too expensive. The draft proposal, Toward a Sustainable Energy Future for All, outlines the World Bank’s goal of providing universal access to energy to help end poverty in a clean and … [Read more...]
China’s coal consumption rivals that of the world
As the data illustrates, China is now burning almost as much coal as the rest of the world combined. And despite impressive support from Beijing for renewable energy and a dawning understanding about the dangers of air pollution, coal use in China is poised to continue rising, if slower than it has in recent years. That’s deadly for the Chinese people — see the truly … [Read more...]
Coal power expansion threatens farmers in India
A looming water crisis could be worsened under an Indian government plan to massively expand coal-fired power generation in the Vidarbha region, raising investment risks and the potential for social unrest, a new Greenpeace India report has warned. In South Africa, Eskom’s decision to build two mega coal power stations (Medupi and Kusile) also poses a similar threat to the … [Read more...]
Let’s clean up the net
Every day, tonnes of asthma-inducing, climate destroying coal pollution is thrown in the air to keep the internet humming. Tech-giants like Microsoft, Amazon and Apple use coal to power the cloud, which stores our data. Millions of people across the world got Facebook off coal. Now the CEOs of these companies need our help. In the next 48 hours we need to send 100,000 … [Read more...]
