It is now six years since Fossil Free SA first called on the University of Cape Town (UCT) to phase out all investments in climate-destroying fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. In those six years, the global fossil fuel divestment movement has grown from a handful of institutions to well over a thousand, including New York, Paris, London, our own city of Cape Town; a whole … [Read more...]
Urgent conservation action required to protect the Heuningnes Redfin
The Heuningnes River System is located on the southern tip of Africa, stretching from the Agulhas Plain onto the Overberg Wheatbelt. The river system comprises three main rivers: the Kars, Nuwejaars and Heuningnes. The river system includes numerous Critically Endangered terrestrial ecosystems such as Overberg Sandstone Fynbos, Elim Ferricrete Fynbos as well as Western and … [Read more...]
UCT Convocation wants fossil fuels divestment
On Tuesday 28 February, the Convocation of the University of Cape Town overwhelmingly passed a non-binding motion for the university to rid itself of all investments in fossil fuels within five years. Should the university Council agree to this motion, it would make UCT the first African University to formally commit to divesting from fossil fuels. Convocation is a statutory … [Read more...]
UCT excels in environmental innovation at second Greenovate Awards
Young environmental visionaries from the University of Cape Town took first place in the Growthpoint Greenovate Awards for the second year running. The awards recognise innovative solutions for the property industry to environmental challenges. Now in its second year, the awards programme is an exciting initiative by Growthpoint Properties in association with the Green … [Read more...]
Archbishop Tutu joins students’ call for fossil free UCT
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has endorsed a campaign amongst staff, students and alumni at the University of Cape Town calling on the university to freeze and phase out its fossil fuel investments, to help stop dangerous climate change. The Archbishop’s call came 10 days before the formal launch of the UCT campaign during a public meeting on 30 July.. His statement … [Read more...]
A political stalemate for the environment
Could climate adaptation be blocked by a political stalemate at local government level? “Local government is doing more than we think, but they are not doing enough,” said Lorena Pasquini (pictured), postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cape Town, in her lecture ‘Hot, or Not: Local Government and Climate Change Adaptation.’ Hers was the second in a series of lectures … [Read more...]
Earth: What will it look like after climate change?
Dry, barren landscapes stretched out for miles. Animal skeletons scattered everywhere. Not a tree or plant to be seen. Damaged and dilapidated houses and buildings. Extreme weather conditions exacerbating these scenes. Is this a melodramatic view shared by the paranoid of what might happen after climate change? Or is this the reality of what awaits our children and … [Read more...]
Business needs to address environmental threats
UCT professor Ralph Hamann (pictured) says complex social and environmental problems can only be addressed if business integrates an understanding of their socio-ecological context in strategy making and execution. The Fairtrade movement, which is gaining momentum in South Africa, is part of a shift in the way business is being done in the country that bodes well for the … [Read more...]
Now we’re cooking with gas!
Eighteen years into democracy, millions of South Africans are still left without electricity or fuel to power the most basic necessities. But, says biogas enthusiast and GSB doctoral student Fawzy Basardien, change is in the pipeline – provided the advantages of renewable energy are recognised in time. Basardien, who is completing his PhD in Entrepreneurship at the UCT … [Read more...]
New climate dialogue needed
“Are the right people in the climate change debating room? Evidence shows climate change hugely impacts on the health and the welfare of children, but conversations in the negotiation process seem removed from this reality and finding solutions for this suffering.” This was one of the questions raised at the jam packed COP17: What Happened and What Does it Mean discussions … [Read more...]
Future carbon budget already almost gone
In the red: We've already eaten into - and substantially so - our future carbon budget, explained Prof Harald Winkler of UCT's Energy Research Centre in his inaugural lecture, 'Climate Change Mitigation in the Context of Development'. "We don't know all the answers, but we do know more than enough to take action now. It's clear from a South African point of view that we need … [Read more...]
