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Environmental News

Event seeks to stimulate earth observation sector in South Africa

By: Rebecca Campbell 25th October 2019 The 2019 Earth Observation (EO) Challenge is now under way. This is the fourth iteration of the competition, conceived by the South African National Space Agency (Sansa), designed to stimulate and promote the local Earth observation products and services sector. In this year’s challenge, which... →

Coal power plants face $7.3bn of losses in Europe in 2019

By: , Bloomberg 24th October 2019 Coal power generators in Europe face €6.6-billion ($7.3-billion) of losses this year as plunging renewable energy costs and cheap natural gas cut use of the dirtiest plants to a record low. Almost 80% of lignite and hard coal-fired generators will be unprofitable this year, a hit the industry is... →

R50m emergency drought funding approved for Western Cape farms

By: African News Agency 24th October 2019 The Western Cape cabinet has approved the release of R50 million in emergency funding to assist farms severely affected by drought. According to the province's MEC for finance and economic opportunities, David Maynier, the release of the funding was authorised on Tuesday. →

How to halt global warming for $300bn

By: , Bloomberg 23rd October 2019 $300-billion. That’s the money needed to stop the rise in greenhouse gases and buy up to 20 years of time to fix global warming, according to United Nations climate scientists. It’s the gross domestic product of Chile, or the world’s military spending every 60 days. The sum is not to fund green... →

Rising drought risk spurs most cash into water funds in a decade

By: , Bloomberg 23rd October 2019 Investors are starting to pay more attention to water shortages and how to turn them into long-term investments. Water-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracted more money in the nine months through September than in any full year since 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show. These funds have... →

13 MW solar PV plant to power Nordgold's Burkina Faso mines

By: Creamer Media Reporter 22nd October 2019 London-headquartered gold miner Nordgold has entered into an agreement with renewable energy independent power producer Total Eren and its strategic development partner Africa Energy Management Platform (AEMP) to build a 13 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant to provide electricity for... →

Pioneer Foods, partner launch first combismile carton pack in MEA region

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 21st October 2019 Systems and solutions provider for aseptic packaging and filling machines for food and beverages, SIG Combibloc Obeikan (SIG CBOB), and South African producer and distributor of branded food and beverage products, Pioneer Foods, on Monday announced the launch of the first combismile carton pack... →

Combismile

French cement company sells promise of greener future in IPO

By: , Bloomberg 21st October 2019 A tiny French cement company sold shares on the Paris exchange with a big promise: to shake up global production and reduce carbon emissions. Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies pitched to investors a “disruptive” manufacturing process based on changing the composition of cement so that it no... →

Renergen completes commissioning of second CNG filling station

By: Simone Liedtke 21st October 2019 Emerging natural gas and helium producer Renergen has completed the commissioning of its second compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station, in Johannesburg. The filling station will begin supplying CNG to Black Knight Logistics for a fleet of about 15 trucks, starting this month. →

Renergen's second compressed natural gas filling station, in Johannesburg

Progress on climate action stalls, hindering Paris Agreement goals – PwC report

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 18th October 2019 The rate of global decarbonisation has slowed to its lowest level since 2011 after four years of moderate progress, PwC UK’s latest Low Carbon Economy Index (LCEI) shows. Although the global economy is getting more energy efficient, overall energy consumption rose by 2.9% with the resurgence in... →

South Africa to test market for emergency power ‘gap fillers’ as IRP is finalised

By: Terence Creamer 18th October 2019 South Africa will release a request for information (RFI) in the coming weeks to test the market for solutions to close an immediate electricity supply gap of between 2 000 MW and 3 000 MW, which has emerged primarily as a result of a fall in the energy availability factor (EAF) from Eskom’s coal... →

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe on the Integrated Resource Plan 2019 allocations and the need for short-term supply solutions. Camera Work: Kutlwano Matlala. Editing: Nicholas Boyd. Recorded: 18.10.2019

Iata welcomes outcomes of International Civil Aviation Organisation assembly

By: Rebecca Campbell 18th October 2019 The global airline industry representative body, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), is pleased with the outcomes of the recent 40th Triennial Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO – the inter-Governmental body which oversees civil aviation worldwide, in... →

Rolls-Royce strengthens position in race to develop electric aero-engines

By: Rebecca Campbell 18th October 2019 Renowned UK industrial technology group Rolls-Royce has completed its purchase of Siemens’ eAircraft business. The deal was originally announced in June. eAircraft was the German electrification, automation and digitalisation group’s electric and hybrid-electric aerospace propulsion unit. “We are... →

Hot weather, no rain contribute to decreasing Gauteng dam levels

By: Marleny Arnoldi 17th October 2019 The City of Johannesburg has imposed level one water restrictions to curtail water use by residents, considering a consistent decline in Gauteng’s water levels over the past months. Hot temperatures and no rain over the past few months have affected the state of the province’s water resources,... →

Plastic bottles vs aluminium cans: who'll win the global water fight?

By: Reuters 17th October 2019 Global bottled water giants are ramping up trials of easily recyclable aluminium cans to replace plastic that pollutes the world's seas. Sound like a slam-dunk for the environment? Not entirely. Aluminium cans might indeed mean less ocean waste, but they come with their own eco-price: the... →

Department acknowledges Vaal river’s dire state

By: Simone Liedtke 16th October 2019 The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) on Wednesday acknowledged the extent to which the condition of the Vaal river had deteriorated in recent months, which the department said was “posing a serious social and economic challenge” for the country. To mitigate the challenge, the department... →

Busa applauds US for sanctions against the Guptas

By: Sane Dhlamini 11th October 2019 Business body Business Unity South Africa (Busa) on Friday welcomed the US Treasury announcement of sanctions against the wealthy fugitive Gupta family. Yesterday the US Treasury sanctioned three members of the Gupta family, friends of former South African President Jacob Zuma who are accused of... →

Busa president Sipho Pityana

35 cities unite for clean air

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 11th October 2019 The mayors of 35 cities across the world have pledged to deliver clean air for the more than 140-million people that live in their cities, through the signing of the C40 Clean Air Cities Declaration. The pledge, unveiled on Friday at the C40 World Mayors Summit in Copenhagen, commits cities to... →

Company provides multiple new solutions

By: Simone Liedtke 11th October 2019 As part of its continuous drive to improve on its solutions offerings, diversified construction materials company AfriSam is developing multiple new solutions to provide more environment-friendly and cost-effective products for clients. Cost effectiveness is particularly important, considering... →

AMIT DAWNEERANGEN One should rather think about the benefits of products in terms of durability, sustainability and the environment

New water-level station introduced

By: Tracy Hancock 11th October 2019 The HOBO MicroRX water-level station, which can monitor water levels in the harshest conditions, is the “perfect solution” to South Africa’s current economic and environmental challenges, says local technology integrator Euca Technologies. South Africa has fast become a water-conscious country,... →

INFORMED DECISION-MAKING The MicroRX water-level station can provide data to help businesses make more informed decisions on how best to action strategies that allow for better management

Deputy Minister calls for greater collaboration

11th October 2019 Municipalities need to work with the Department of Water and Sanitation and water entities to ensure efficient government supply systems, said Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo at the inaugural Municipal Water Services Scientific Forum held at the Athlone Wastewater Treatment... →

Photo by Creamer Media
QUALITY CATALYST The Municipal Water Services Scientific Forum will serve as a platform for knowledge sharing in the management of water and effluent quality

Innovation exists, but needs to be scaled up locally

By: Tracy Hancock 11th October 2019 South Africa’s infrastructure needs refurbishment to restore functionality, as well as a digital refit to enable a new cyber management regime as the local water industry enters the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), says national water knowledge hub Water Research Commission (WRC) CEO Dhesigen... →

Photo by Creamer Media
WATER GOALS Innovation is the only way through which Africa will come close to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and achieve reasonable water security

Plans to speed up electrification in Africa

By: Kim Cloete 10th October 2019 Africa needs to connect around 73-million people to electricity every year to reach the goal of affordable and sustainable energy for every single African by 2030, says the African Union (AU) Commission. Atef Marzouk, head of the Energy Division of the AU Commission’s Department of Infrastructure... →

The IRP brings winds of change

By: Kim Cloete 10th October 2019 With the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) due to be finalised and a generous share of the energy mix being set aside for wind power, the winds of change are blowing across the industry in South Africa and into the rest of Africa. Leaders in the industry were upbeat during the final plenary of the... →

Presidential Commission on Climate Change

10th October 2019 Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer tells Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn more about Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy’s plans to finally establish the proposed Presidential Commission on Climate Change, what South Africa’s proposed just transition to a low-carbon... →

Presidential Commission on Climate Change

Mining companies edge towards renewable energy options

By: Kim Cloete 9th October 2019 Mining companies are starting to heed the transition towards a low-carbon future by investing in wind energy, solar and gas. This was relayed at the annual African wind energy summit, the Windaba, in Cape Town, on Wednesday. →

FirstRand shareholders to vote on climate risk resolutions next month

By: Simone Liedtke 9th October 2019 Shareholders of financial services provider FirstRand will, next month, vote on whether the company must report on its assessment of its exposure to climate-related risks, and to adopt and publicly disclose a policy on fossil fuel lending. This will require more than 50% of shareholders to vote... →

Minerals Council calls for rational debates on a just transition

By: Kim Cloete 9th October 2019 The Minerals Council South Africa has called for "rational and sombre" debates about a just transition from coal-fired power to more wind and solar energy and has outlined the difficult situation mining companies are facing, amid higher electricity prices and other input costs. The council's... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Minerals Council chief economist Henk Langenhoven

Small ships are next big thing for this $150bn market

By: , Bloomberg 9th October 2019 Giant ocean-going tankers built the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry into a $150-billion-a-year business. The next expansion opportunity may come from ships a seventh of the normal size. Fifty-five years after the first commercial LNG tanker sailed from Algeria, this segment of the gas... →

Incoming top EU climate official pledges to tax polluting imports

By: Reuters 9th October 2019 The European Union (EU) will start work immediately on a tax on polluting foreign firms to shelter EU businesses striving to meet a goal to be climate neutral by 2050, the senior official set to take responsibility for climate in the new European Commission said on Tuesday. Frans Timmermans, who... →

Drought conditions persist in some parts of the country – Agriculture dept

By: African News Agency 9th October 2019 Below normal rainfall is anticipated over the central and south-eastern parts of South Africa during late spring, while above normal rainfall is expected during early summer to mid-summer in the central and eastern regions, the department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries said on Wednesday,... →

Renewables sector’s just transition roadmap to target coal and gold regions

By: Terence Creamer 9th October 2019 South Africa’s renewable-energy industry is preparing a detailed ‘just transition’ roadmap that will incorporate employment, spatial and industrialisation components to the deployment of solar and wind in a bid to catalyse economic activity and job creation in areas where coal and gold mining are... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Mike Levington

Global value chain participation could offer boost for developing countries

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 8th October 2019 In an era of slowing trade and growth, developing countries can achieve better outcomes for their citizens through reforms that boost their participation in global value chains, a new World Bank Group report has found. These reforms can help these countries expand from commodity exports to basic... →

Gauteng prioritises agriculture, township economy, manufacturing growth

By: Marleny Arnoldi 8th October 2019 Gauteng economic development, agriculture and environment MEC Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on Tuesday said the province continued to experience pressure for further economic development, owing to about 4 000 people moving to the province each week in the hopes of gaining access to better... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Dr Kgotsientso Ramokgopa

Iata welcomes outcomes of International Civil Aviation Assembly

By: Rebecca Campbell 8th October 2019 The global airline industry representative body, the International Air Transport Association (Iata), is pleased with the outcomes of last week’s fortieth Triennial Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO – the inter-governmental body which oversees civil aviation... →

Nuclear faces climate-fight irrelevance without lower cost

By: , Bloomberg 8th October 2019 Catastrophic climate change can still be averted even without increasing one of the biggest sources of carbon-free electricity. That was the message sent to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials on Monday, who convened their first-ever conference exploring how nuclear power could... →

Presidential Climate Change Commission to be just-transition crucible – Creecy

By: Terence Creamer 7th October 2019 Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy has confirmed that the Presidential Climate Change Commission, which was proposed as part of agreements reached at the 2018 Jobs Summit, will be established and will become a key platform for facilitating South Africa’s ‘just transition’... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy

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