For the last year, Central and Eastern European governments have been pressuring the EU to include less restrictive criteria for biomass energy production and to recognise natural gas as a transition fuel towards climate neutrality. They may have realised their ambitions with the current draft of the EU Sustainable Taxonomy proposal. Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) will be … [Read more...]
EU Sustainable Taxonomy must be rooted in climate science
The global climate strikes have consistently made a simple demand: listen to the science. We agree. Just as experts and evidence have been key assets in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, so too must they, and not sectoral interests, determine our policies to fight the climate crisis. WWF Central and Eastern Europe, along with a coalition of NGOs, think-tanks, experts and … [Read more...]
Activists kick off Fossil Free campaign outside prominent bank
Activists in Sandton this week kicked off the campaign for a Fossil Free Africa. "This is a fight for our future, and that of our children -- a future where we have clean energy and water to survive, and where our energy supply doesn’t cost the earth," they said. The activists were outside Nedbank’s headquarters to expose the bank’s greenwashing and their role in South … [Read more...]
Greenwashing: how do we use this concept for good?
The concept of greenwashing is one that I have long refrained from discussing, preferring rather to encourage the developing green market and not to fuel fires of mistrust. Not because it’s not important, on the contrary. South Africans need to understand what constitutes a responsible consumer and how they can contribute towards a better world. But it is also a term that may … [Read more...]
The upward spiral from naiveté to action
Our capitalist economy, together with low education levels, create a huge rift in most organisations between good intentions or policies and shopfloor adherence. Many organisations today have environmental/sustainability policies in place, which give voice to the senior management's commitment to environmental responsibility. Often environmental management systems are … [Read more...]