Responding to President Cyril Ramaphosa's recent comments at the World Economic Forum's Davos Agenda, Greenpeace Africa's Climate and Energy Campaign Manager Happy Khambule has said: "The President of South Africa and Chair of the African Union is peddling 20th century solutions to 21st century problems. The President missed an opportunity to rise to the challenges of … [Read more...]
Water decisions that build climate resilience in Africa
A climate resilient project in Zambia supported by the African Development Bank and Climate Investment Funds (CIF) has won the Water ChangeMaker People’s Choice Award-Africa. The Strengthening Climate Resilience in the Kafue Sub-basin Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (SCRiKA) beat two other finalists identified by an expert jury to win first prize with roughly 7,000 … [Read more...]
SA launches first organic pollinator programme
The South African Organic Sector Organisation (SAOSO) in collaboration with Participatory Guarantee System South Africa (PGSSA) has launched SA’s first Ecological Organic Agriculture Pollinator programme. The programme is training 20 people to set up PGSs throughout South Africa that will help build more connected local food systems, provide organic assurance for consumers … [Read more...]
Greenhouse gases still at record levels after lockdown
The industrial slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has not curbed record levels of greenhouse gases which are trapping heat in the atmosphere, increasing temperatures and driving more extreme weather, ice melt, sea-level rise and ocean acidification, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The lockdown has cut emissions of many pollutants and greenhouse … [Read more...]
Inga 3 project going ahead amid COVID-19 pandemic
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) concluded a week-long conference in June earlier this year on the beleaguered Grand Inga Dam Project, where South Africa restated its commitment to purchase 5000MW of electricity from the proposed project, and the SA Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy is reported to be pressing ahead with their plans to procure power from the … [Read more...]
How a lagoon became a frontline defence against climate change
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...]
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...]
Protesters demonstrate outside Cape Town oil conference
The Africa Oil Week conference at the Cape Town International Convention Centre this week is bringing together governments, investors, international corporations, and lobbyists, who - despite our imminent global ecological crisis – remain unchallenged by our politicians as they further push our world over the edge of collapse through their aggressively escalating production of … [Read more...]
Least developed countries launch vision for climate resilient future
More than two-thirds, about 69%, of people killed in climate-related disasters in the past 50 years were living in 47 of the world's poorest nations, according to findings released by the group of least developed countries (LDCs) ahead of the United Nations Climate Action Summit, which took place this past weekend. The LDCs, which make up 13% of the global population, … [Read more...]
Plastics industry tackles waste in the environment
The local plastics industry will once again demonstrate its commitment to cleaning up the environment and removing plastics litter from our rivers, streams, oceans and neighbourhoods when the annual Clean-up and Recycle SA Week takes place from 16-21 September 2019. According to Douw Steyn, Sustainability Director of Plastics|SA, this is the 23rd year that they will be … [Read more...]
Arbour week celebrates good green deeds
Climate change is the 21st century’s greatest threat to both humanity and biodiversity. The massive increase in the amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere by industrial processes, transportation and veld fires (to name a few) is increasing the global temperature which is resulting in an adverse change in weather patterns. In … [Read more...]
Cape Town’s pollen level spike cause for concern
This year saw some of the highest recorded pollen counts in history, which had cities from Europe to the US covered in clouds of pollen as a result of global warming. A spike in South Africa's pollen production has also been flagged by local scientists who are calling for an urgent expansion of the country's pollen monitoring programme. Prof Jonny Peter, Head of the … [Read more...]
Climate change a major health threat to children
Kids face unique health burdens because of the climate crisis, including “the broad effects of weather disasters, exacerbated allergic and asthmatic diseases, food and water insecurity, and heat-related deaths.” When the world gets warmer, the results impact real people’s lives. It’s a truth that too often gets lost amid data points and science jargon, late-breaking news, … [Read more...]
