An essay on the deeper causes and implications of climate-driven societal breakdown, by Professor Jem Bendell. If you have begun to anticipate the climate-driven collapse of societies, what can you wish for? I have written elsewhere about the problems of being attached to hope, if that means we falsely assume we can’t engage in the world creatively unless we have an … [Read more...]
Concern over Minister Gwede Mantashe’s fixation on nuclear power
Extinction Rebellion South Africa shares the concern voiced by many people and organizations over Minister Gwede Mantashe’s unreasonable fixation on nuclear power. In May, Minister Mantashe said, when addressing the Portfolio Committee: “We are going to explore all options, when there is appetite for nuclear in the market, we will go ahead with it.” Is that a sound plan? Why … [Read more...]
Green New Deal can stimulate economic recovery and create jobs
While lockdown inadvertently helped to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, it is critically important that sustainability of the environment is at the heart of post-Covid-19 recovery efforts. This is according to the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI). “This is where the much-talked about Green New Deal (GND) becomes crucial and while it’s no panacea … [Read more...]
Collapse of civilisation likely according to climate scientists
Australia’s top climate scientist says “we are already deep into the trajectory towards collapse” of civilisation, which may now be inevitable because 9 of the 15 known global climate tipping points that regulate the state of the planet have been activated. Australian National University emeritus professor Will Steffen (pictured) told Voice of Action that there was already a … [Read more...]
Profiting from health and ecological crises in Africa
The ACB has shared a research paper about the wave of ‘Trojan horse’ second-generation genetic engineering strategies targeted at, inter alia, malaria in Africa, at a time when the COVID-19 crisis is fracturing the myth that global health expertise is the domain of North America and Europe. Global health can no longer be defined by Western nations, as the world watches with … [Read more...]
Civil Society calls on the African Development Bank to quit fossil fuels
Africa Day 2020: African Climate Reality Project along with 25 fellow civil society organisations, are calling on the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) to immediately put in place and publish on the AfDB website a fossil fuel finance exclusion policy that states that the Bank will not fund, provide financial services or capacity support to any coal project on the African … [Read more...]
Global leaders urged to develop a just and resilient world
Representatives of the World Future Council from all continents have signed a letter to world leaders in which they outline recommendations and calls for immediate targeted actions required to rebuild a resilient and just world now and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic shows how fragile the current international system is and that common, global solutions … [Read more...]
Fossil fuel phase-out: It’s time to say it loud and clear
Mixed signals about the future of fossil fuels are delaying climate action. The energy transition - and our planet - depends on absolute clarity, writes WWF's Jesse Fahnestock. The past weeks have seen the publication of the Global Renewables Outlook from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), as well as a variety of articles discussing how historically low oil … [Read more...]
Solar industry calls on president to remove private power generation limitations
An industry body that represents 320 member organisations in the solar PV industry has written an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, in which it calls on him to remove limitations to private power generation as a way of supporting efforts to kick start the economy post COVID-19. The letter, by the Chairperson of the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association Mr … [Read more...]
Finding economic and environmental solutions after covid-19
Post-Covid-19, there will be more pressure on governments, NGO’s, and the private sector to drive small economies in local communities. With an expected rise in unemployment, a bi-product of the forced global lockdowns, new ways to derive incomes are going to be key for survival, and especially in the poorer communities in South Africa. Green Corridors, the NPO which has … [Read more...]
Nature must be protected to reduce the risk of future pandemics
There is a single species that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic - us. As with the climate and biodiversity crises, recent pandemics are a direct consequence of human activity – particularly our global financial and economic systems, based on a limited paradigm that prizes economic growth at any cost. We have a small window of opportunity, in overcoming the challenges of … [Read more...]
Inspiring hope as SA marks Freedom Day under lockdown
Today is an important landmark in South Africa’s history; Freedom Day. To acknowledge the great sacrifices South Africans have made since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, South African Tourism has released a new television advert to inspire hope as the country marks Freedom Day under lockdown. Freedom of movement; the dignity of work; the joys of travel and experiencing … [Read more...]
Plastics industry supports waste pickers during lockdown
South Africa has close to 60 000 waste pickers who play a substantial role in the country’s waste management industry. As part of the country’s informal waste sector, they help recover recyclables from household waste streams, as well as waste materials sent to landfill sites. With the country in a national lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak, these waste reclaimers … [Read more...]
