This Friday the UN’s climate body (UNFCCC) will release an assessment of the 48 national emission reduction plans submitted by the end of 2020. The plans account for 75 parties to the UN, as the EU27 is counted as one bloc, and cover an estimated 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. While most countries have incrementally increased ambition, the combined impact puts them … [Read more...]
Fracking threatens Africa’s last elephant stronghold
The fate of one of Africa’s most valuable ecosystems may depend on results from wells being drilled deep into the bedrock beneath the Kalahari of northern Namibia and Botswana in the hunt for a petroleum reservoir. For a distance of some 150km, Canadian company ReconAfrica’s oil and gas prospecting concessions border the Okavango River, a crucial source of water in a … [Read more...]
Youth protest lack of climate action in Joburg
“This year has been a complete right-off for climate action and a massive knock for the people, especially the youth, of this country! We are in a race against time to keep temperatures well-below 2 degrees or stabilise at 1.5°C degrees, and as it stands, current levels of warming has already resulted in human rights’ violations.” So said Earthlife Africa Johannesburg … [Read more...]
We can shape the climate future we want
One voice can change the world. South Africa is no stranger to the power of public participation in shaping society. But the country and the world now face an unprecedented challenge: the climate crisis. If left unchecked, it will destroy ecosystems and livelihoods, hurting the poorest and most vulnerable people. It is the fifth anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement on … [Read more...]
South Africa’s SO2 emissions drop in 2019, no thanks to government
South Africa saw a sharp decrease in Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) emissions in 2019, bringing the country’s emissions to their lowest level on record, according to new research by Greenpeace India and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). A significant drop in emissions would increase the quality of life for thousands of South Africans who suffer from respiratory … [Read more...]
Polluted air causing premature deaths in Mpumalanga Highveld
Every day, people living and working on the Mpumalanga Highveld are breathing toxic, polluted air that is harmful to their health and well-being. This is the basis of the Deadly Air case, which will be heard by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on 17 to 19 May 2021. The applicants in the court case, environmental justice groups groundWork and the Vukani Environmental … [Read more...]
Major climate impacts destroy another coal power plant
Major climate impacts and exorbitant costs have sounded the death knell for one of the last new proposed coal-fired power stations in South Africa: Thabametsi in water-scarce Limpopo. Last week, environmental justice groups Earthlife Africa and groundWork, who have been challenging the Thabametsi power station in court since 2016, secured agreement from both Thabametsi and … [Read more...]
Financing the future we want
With the climate crisis threatening over half of the global GDP, there can be no business-as-usual when the world begins to plan for a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, we have a unique opportunity to change our relationship with nature by shifting our development pathway to one that is equitable and sustainable. Development Finance Institutions may be the … [Read more...]
Imagining a just recovery in South Africa
For many climate justice advocates, the trajectory of the Covid-19 pandemic is unsurprising, as it mirrors the very systems and structures that underpin the climate crisis. A new report by the Institute for Economic Justice, 350Africa and the Climate Justice Coalition attempts to show the way to a Just Recovery. The Covid-19 pandemic has drastically altered the lives of the … [Read more...]
Extinction Rebellion condemns East African crude oil pipeline
Extinction Rebellion South Africa calls for all environmentally and socially conscious people to close their accounts with Standard Bank South Africa, and move them to a bank that treats the climate and ecological crisis with the urgency it deserves. Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest lender, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) of Japan are reportedly about to … [Read more...]
Clarity needed on biodegradable and compostable plastics
“Bioplastics” is a term that frequently arises in the media and public domain, and is often touted as the answer to the plastic pollution problem. Unfortunately, the term is often incorrectly used to describe a few different concepts, which can create a lot of confusion in the marketplace. Plastics can be made from either fossil-based (derived from petrochemicals) or … [Read more...]
Global SO2 emissions dropped last year according to new report
Anthropogenic sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions fell globally in 2019, reveals a new analysis of NASA satellite data by Greenpeace India and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). In 2019 human-made SO2 emissions fell in all three of the world’s top SO2 emitter countries - India, Russia and China - the report shows. "While heartening at first glance, the drop … [Read more...]
Joburg townships pay the price for SA’s gold mining legacy
This week, as South Africa adjusts to the eased of restrictions of lockdown Level 1, more people are likely to travel domestically again, many heading to SA’s economic hub for business. According to Earthlife Africa Johannesburg’s Makoma Lekalakala, “Many South Africans do not know that Johannesburg, the country’s largest city, is also the most radioactive city on the … [Read more...]
