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Climate Change News

Project launched to define role of finance in South Africa and India’s ‘just transitions’

By: Terence Creamer 19th January 2021 A new multi-partner initiative has been launched with the aim of defining the role that finance can and should play in supporting both South Africa and India’s aspirations to implement “just transitions” to more climate-resilient economies. The ‘Just Transition Finance Roadmaps in South Africa... →

New report highlights growing financing gap for climate adaptation

By: Terence Creamer 14th January 2021 The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is warning that current levels of climate adaptation finance are woefully inadequate to support the planning and projects needed to limit the social and economic damage that will arise as a result of intensifying climate change. Distinct from... →

Danish PM to lead IEA commission on making energy transition people-centered

By: Terence Creamer 11th January 2021 The International Energy Agency (IEA) has announced the creation of a high-level global commission, headed by Danish PM Mette Frederiksen, to investigate how to ensure that people are placed at the heart of the unfolding global clean-energy transition. Speaking during a virtual briefing on... →

Dr Fatih Birol

Earth’s margin for error narrows after another year of record heat

By: Bloomberg 8th January 2021 Another year of record-high heat punctuated a decade-long increase in global temperatures that has placed the Earth’s economies dangerously close to climate tipping points. Those are the conclusions published Friday by European Union scientists. Despite pandemic-induced lockdowns of the global... →

Ramaphosa appoints Climate Change Commission members

By: African News Agency 18th December 2020 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed members of the Climate Change Coordinating Commission established to coordinate and oversee the transition towards a low-carbon and climate change resilient economy. A statement from the Presidency late on Thursday said the commission, an... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Siemens sees train boom from climate-conscious spending on rail

By: Bloomberg 18th December 2020 Siemens sees the rail market bouncing back from a coronavirus slump, aided by an international push to slash carbon-dioxide emissions from transport. The global market for trains and related infrastructure will expand by a quarter over the next three years to exceed pre-coronavirus levels,... →

Polluters make some net-zero progress, climate action 100+ says

By: Bloomberg 17th December 2020 Three years after some of the world’s biggest investors joined forces to pressure the largest producers of greenhouse gases to cut emissions, about half of them have made net-zero commitments. Climate Action 100+, an investor group with 545 members managing a combined $52 trillion of assets, said... →

Planet-warming emissions from buildings put climate goals at risk

By: Reuters 17th December 2020 Planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from buildings and construction are jeopardising global goals to keep devastating climate change at bay, a UN-backed coalition warned on Wednesday, after data showed they hit an all-time high in 2019. The use of coal, oil and natural gas for heating,... →

Wind association lauds S Africa govt’s policy progress

11th December 2020 The South African Wind Energy Association (Sawea) has applauded the South African government for the progress made in policy over the last 12 months, beginning with the gazetting of the Integrated Resource Plan 2019 (IRP 2019) and all the hard work done, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, to ensure... →

KANGAS WIND FARM The first bid window four wind farm, in the Northern Cape, to come on stream as part of government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme

Climate change affecting arid areas in poorer and richer countries differently

By: Rebecca Campbell 11th December 2020 At the global level, as the climate has been changing, the amount of vegetation in arid areas has been increasing. But scientists at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, have, following analysis of 15 years’ worth of satellite imagery of vegetation and rainfall, identified a worrying trend:... →

UK aid to be focused on seven areas, including climate change, health and girls’ education

By: Rebecca Campbell 11th December 2020 UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab recently informed the House of Commons in London on the the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s plans to overhaul Britain’s Official Development Assistance (ODA). This followed the UK government’s decision to temporarily reduce its ODA from the current... →

South Africa’s biggest power shift in over a generation holds big promise, and some risk

By: Terence Creamer 11th December 2020 Next year, 2021, is poised to be a pivotal one for South Africa’s renewable-energy sector – for real this time! The industry will have an opportunity, finally, to participate in the fifth bid window of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), the bid... →

Standard Bank publishes climate-change-mitigating fossil fuels financing policy

By: Donna Slater 10th December 2020 Financial services company Standard Bank Group has published its Fossil Fuels Financing Policy (FFFP) as part of its efforts to improve its management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and contribute to the sustainable development of Africa. This follows the 2019 adoption of... →

Youth need to be involved in dealing with climate change, Italians and Africans agree

By: Rebecca Campbell 9th December 2020 Italy is co-organising next year’s COP26 Climate Conference with the UK, and Rome is placing particular emphasis on informing and involving young people regarding climate change, highlighted Italian Ambassador to South Africa Paolo Cuculi in a joint briefing in Pretoria on Tuesday. The briefing,... →

World not yet meeting climate change target, five years after signing the Paris Accord

By: Rebecca Campbell 8th December 2020 The world is lagging when it comes to the implementation of the Paris Climate Accord (also known as the Paris Agreement), French Ambassador to South Africa Aurélien Lechavallier warned on Tuesday. He was participating in a joint briefing in Pretoria marking the fifth anniversary of the accord... →

UK committed to help South Africa and poor countries with climate change measures

By: Rebecca Campbell 8th December 2020 UK High Commissioner to South Africa Nigel Casey confirmed on Tuesday that his country was still committed to doubling its climate finance assistance to developing countries to £11.6-billion over the next five years. He was speaking at a joint briefing in Pretoria (which he hosted) marking the... →

Record number of companies disclosing sustainability impacts

By: Donna Slater 1st December 2020 The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has welcomed KPMG research that shows a record number of companies, spanning many sectors and geographic regions, are voluntarily disclosing their sustainability impacts – with the GRI Standards the most widely used for reporting. GRI is an independent,... →

GRI chairperson Eric Hespenheide

Arid areas in poorer and richer countries affected differently by climate change

By: Rebecca Campbell 30th November 2020 At the global level, as climate has been changing, the amount of vegetation in arid areas has been increasing. But scientists at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, have, following analysis of 15 years’ worth of satellite imagery of vegetation and rainfall, identified a worrying trend:... →

Opinion: How African countries can mobilise private capital for their infrastructure drives

27th November 2020 In this opinion piece, Standard Bank corporate and investment banking CE Kenny Fihla writes about governments turning to public-private partnerships to deliver large-scale projects. Given the pressure on investment yields in developed markets, African nations have an opportunity to attract... →

Greencape highlights importance of green SMMEs in economic recovery

By: Marleny Arnoldi 25th November 2020 Green economy organisation Greencape is drafting policy recommendations around development and support for green small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs), which is being informed by a support programme the company launched with help from the European Union (EU). Greencape had earmarked... →

World leaders praise Paris climate pact as Trump justifies exit

By: Bloomberg 23rd November 2020 World leaders urged countries not to lose sight of climate goals in the coronavirus pandemic, endorsing the aims of the Paris agreement amid hopes that US President-elect Joe Biden will rejoin the accord. Participants on the second day of a virtual Group of 20 summit of rich nations discussed... →

Green economy faces challenge to replace carbon energy sources

By: Bloomberg 19th November 2020 The march toward a greener global economy is headed into a more difficult second phase that will aim to replace carbon as an energy source, said panelists during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum. Companies including Honeywell International and Schneider Electricare offering solutions to reduce... →

Climate Transparency questions South Africa’s commitment to phasing out coal

By: Marleny Arnoldi 18th November 2020 A report by Climate Transparency has cautioned the Group of Twenty (G20) countries against quick-fix Covid-19 stimulus packages that favour fossil fuel industries. The global partnership has a shared mission to stimulate a “race to the top” in climate action in the G20 countries through enhanced... →

Britain to ban new petrol cars and vans by 2030 on road to net zero emissions

By: Reuters 18th November 2020 Britain will move up a ban on new petrol and diesel cars and vans to 2030 and is eyeing 250 000 new jobs as part of a green industrial revolution, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as he tries to meet Britain's net zero emissions climate target. Johnson is seeking to show his government is on... →

Sasol working to reset business for low-carbon world

13th November 2020 Financially and environmentally beleaguered energy and chemicals group Sasol is working to reset its business for a low-carbon world. Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer unpacks the emerging strategy. →

Sasol working to reset business for low-carbon world

'New roadmap' needed for South Africa to deal with plastic waste pollution

By: Simone Liedtke 12th November 2020 Although the plastics and plastic products industry contributed about R70-billion to South Africa’s economy in 2019, according to Plastics South Africa, plastic pollution has also had a significant impact on the country’s ecosystem services. Therefore, Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister... →

Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy delivers the keynote address at this year's Plastics Colloquium. Video: Creamer Media's Kutlwano Matlala. Editing: Creamer Media's Nicholas Boyd.

Climate change could make Cape Town a very dry place

By: Rebecca Campbell 12th November 2020 Scientists at two American institutions, Stanford University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have warned that climate change caused by human activities has greatly increased the probability of Cape Town being again afflicted by very severe droughts such as that... →

Sasol pins low-carbon ‘reset’ hopes on gas, renewables and green hydrogen

By: Terence Creamer 11th November 2020 Energy and chemicals group Sasol, which is coming under increasing pressure to reduce its carbon emissions, reports that climate change is now “front and centre” in its unfolding ‘strategic reset’, which will involve a transition away from coal to gas, renewable energy and green hydrogen. In... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Sasol CEO Fleetwood Grobler

Covid-19 accelerates energy transitions - PwC

By: Donna Slater 11th November 2020 Assurance, advisory and tax services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reports – through its newly released Africa Oil & Gas Review, titled Energising a New Tomorrow – that the rampant spread of the Covid-19 pandemic globally has resulted in galvanising of commitments to a green energy... →

PwC energy strategy and infrastructure director James Mackay discusses how Covid-19 has sped up developments in the green energy sector.

Renewables display Covid immunity with record 2020 and strong outlook

By: Terence Creamer 10th November 2020 New additions of renewable-energy capacity worldwide will increase to a record level of almost 200 GW this year, shrugging off the demand slump that accompanied the Covid-19 crisis and which negatively affected the demand for fossil fuels. In addition, a new International Energy Agency (IEA)... →

Greenpeace urges African countries to lead climate developments on the continent

By: Sane Dhlamini 9th November 2020 Not for profit environmental organisation Greenpeace has called on African countries to lead the development of new climate databases and models rather than depend on other countries as future average temperatures on the continent are projected to increase at a rate faster than the global average... →

VW CEO Diess says pandemic poses biggest near-term challenge

By: Bloomberg 6th November 2020 Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said the coronavirus pandemic poses the biggest near-term challenge for the world’s largest carmaker, hitting as the company shifts strategy to tackle climate change. While VW has a “healthy order bank” and remains confident on sales in the coming weeks, its... →

Germany examines ammonia to deliver green fuel for industry

By: Bloomberg 5th November 2020 Germany is looking at using ammonia and methanol as ways to deliver hydrogen as a clean-burning fuel for industry, part of its effort to make Europe’s biggest economy climate-neutral by 2050. The government is financing a feasibility study to evaluate ways of transporting hydrogen and is focusing... →

US exits Paris climate pact with election outcome uncertain

By: Bloomberg 4th November 2020 The US has officially become the first nation to quit the Paris climate agreement, even as the outcome of the country’s presidential race remains undetermined. President Donald Trump, who’s fighting for re-election, moved to withdraw from the landmark environmental accord exactly one year ago,... →

Fund managers start ball rolling on large-scale kelp farm off Namibian coast

By: Marleny Arnoldi 2nd November 2020 Fund management firm Climate Fund Managers’ Climate Investor Two Fund has partnered with Namibia Infrastructure Development and Investment Fund (Nidif), managed by Namibian private equity fund manager Eos Capital, and Kelp Blue for the commercial development of the world’s first large-scale kelp... →

Kelp Blue kelp farm

Sasol unveils first carbon-offset deal as it seeks yet more projects

By: Terence Creamer 2nd November 2020 Energy and chemicals group Sasol reports that it has secured more than 100 000 carbon credits in a transaction concluded under the South African Carbon Offset Administration System (COAS), set up to facilitate the listing, transfer and retirement of such credits to offset carbon tax liabilities.... →

The 7 MW Bethlehem Hydro IPP

Sasol to test market for Southern African carbon-offset prospects

By: Terence Creamer 29th October 2020 Chemicals and energy group Sasol has indicated that it intends issuing a request for information (RFI) for the development and implementation of carbon-offset projects in South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and has called on potential participants to register their... →

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