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Environmental News

Investors with $41tr ask G7 to stop subsidising fossil fuels

By: Bloomberg 10th June 2021 A coalition of investors overseeing a combined $41-trillion of assets have called on world leaders to set more ambitious greenhouse-gas emissions targets and end support for fossil fuels. DWS Group, Legal and General Investment Management and Pacific Investment Management Co were among 457... →

Honouring $100bn/y climate-finance pledge key to catalysing developing country energy transitions

By: Terence Creamer 9th June 2021 Annual clean energy investment in emerging and developing economies needs to increase by more than seven times, from less than $150-billion in 2020 to over $1-trillion by 2030, if the world is to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, a new report shows. The ‘Financing Clean Energy Transitions in... →

Starbucks to roll out Cup-Share initiative across EMEA by 2025

By: Schalk Burger 9th June 2021 Coffeehouse multinational Starbucks will start a trial of its reusable Cup-Share initiative, which is aimed at reducing single-use plastic waste, in the UK, France and Germany over the coming months. The Cup-Share initiative is part of its ongoing approach to encourage customers to use reusable... →

Ramaphosa calls for Africa to speak with one voice to address climate change

By: Yvonne Silaule 8th June 2021 President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the African continent to speak with one clear voice to "express unwavering support" for the implementation of the United Nations Climate Change Convention and its Paris Agreement. He was speaking during the virtual meeting on the Committee of African Heads... →

DFFE develops Source-to-Sea initiative to stave off marine, plastic litter

By: Simone Liedtke 8th June 2021 Marine litter, including plastic litter, has become a matter of increasing global and national concern as a source of marine pollution. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has, therefore, prioritised efforts to deal with the challenge of marine litter, as there is... →

CapeNature takes Cederberg office off-grid

By: Marleny Arnoldi 8th June 2021 Biodiversity conservation organisation CapeNature is installing a 75 kW solar photovoltaic system at its offices in Algeria, in the Cederberg region of South Africa’s Western Cape. The Cederberg wilderness is three hours outside of Cape Town and the organisation strives to continuously improve... →

Solar plant at CapeNature offices, in Cederberg

EU’s Green Deal will have wide-ranging impact on SA exports, cautions Van Zyl

By: Irma Venter 8th June 2021 Europe’s Green Deal is not just a vision or an idea, but a well-funded policy that is being implemented, and that is set to have a wide-ranging impact on South African exports, says Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) executive chairperson Dr Johan van Zyl. Van Zyl stepped down earlier this year as... →

Johan Van Zyl

Masterplan to position South Africa as ‘globally significant’ renewables manufacturer

By: Terence Creamer 8th June 2021 Department of Mineral Resources and Energy director-general Advocate Thabo Mokoena reports that government intends using the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM), which is currently being drafted, to position the country as a “globally significant” producer of inputs used in... →

South African researchers hope to deter rhino poachers with radioactive markers

By: Reuters 4th June 2021 Researchers in South Africa are working on a potentially new method to deter rhino poachers and smugglers by using radioactive markers to make smuggled horns detectable at global ports of entry and less desirable to buyers. South Africa is home to the world's largest rhino population but has... →

Alternative treatment posited as a solution to deal with waste crisis

By: Donna Slater 4th June 2021 The Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) says that, because South Africa relies heavily on its natural ecosystems and landscapes for its tourism sector, it is incredibly important that the country’s waste management sector adopts the best and latest technology to avoid... →

Industry insight opportunity for students

By: Anna Moross 4th June 2021 Owing to the fast-paced changes in the boilers and burners sector, technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges have initiated an Occupational Qualification Dual System programme that entails sending students into the industry to ensure that they are prepared when they obtain an... →

BOILERMAKING QUALIFICATION The programme . . . aims to provide students with an opportunity to gain theoretical knowledge from the college while attaining real-time experience at a company

Steam generator reduces heat loss by 20%

By: Anna Moross 4th June 2021 Steam boiler supplier Steam Generation Africa, exclusive distributor of the CERTUSS steam generators, is testing the generators at a brewery in Ghana. →

CERTUSS STEAM GENERATOR The key objective of this project is to overcome the disadvantages of a firetube by installing a CERTUSS steam generator, which reduces heat loss by 20%

Abatement solution for coal-fired power pollution

By: Claire O'Reilly 4th June 2021 EPCM Global Engineering are the South African representatives of the Luxembourg-based company Carbon Process & Plant Engineering (CPPE) who is the owner and provider of the Sulfacid® technology for flue gas desulphurisation by reacting the SO2 with water on an Activated Carbon bed in order to... →

South Africa’s just transition must accommodate myriad of considerations

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 3rd June 2021 As South Africa seeks to scale up the move away from being reliant on coal-fired energy towards cleaner energy forms, the resultant just transition process to enable this must be cognisant of a number of different stakeholders. This was indicated during a ‘Key priorities and challenges for a Just... →

Climate Finance Accelerator launched in South Africa, call for proposals opened

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 3rd June 2021 The British High Commission, together with voluntary coalition of South African and multinational companies the National Business Initiative (NBI) and nonprofit organisation GreenCape, have launched a Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) programme in South Africa and have issued an open call for... →

City of Joburg launches Climate Action Plan

By: Simone Liedtke 3rd June 2021 The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) Mayoral Committee has launched a city-wide Climate Action Plan (CAP) with the objective of transitioning towards carbon neutrality and a resilient city by 2050. The CAP seeks to contribute to the objectives of the city’s Growth & Development Plan and aligns to the... →

Applications open for Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Research Grant

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 1st June 2021 Applications for the 2021 Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer (JWO) Research Grant, worth $150 000, are now open for submissions. The JWO Research Grant is an initiative that seeks to support early-career African researchers focused on innovative research that will contribute to the advancement of... →

South African adviser urges shift to renewables to spur growth

By: Bloomberg 1st June 2021 Replacing South Africa’s aging and inadequate electricity generation capacity with renewable energy plants is an opportunity to spur economic growth and cut emissions, the effective head of a presidential climate change commission said. While many countries face the problem of having to idle... →

French funding to assist in better biodiversity management at Table Mountain

By: Marleny Arnoldi 31st May 2021 South African National Parks (SANParks) has signed a bipartite agreement with French development agency Agence Française de Dévéloppement (AFD) for funding to preserve biodiversity in South Africa. The AFD is providing €1.85-million biodiversity efforts in South Africa and Reunion Island.... →

Alien plant and animal species responsible for significant biodiversity degradation

By: Donna Slater 28th May 2021 A report released by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) on May 28, finds that biological invasions are the third-largest threat to South Africa’s biodiversity after cultivation and land degradation, and are responsible for 25% of all biodiversity loss. The second... →

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

Nemwa amendments aimed at increasing recovery of products to be recycled

By: Simone Liedtke 28th May 2021 Waste management and plastic recycling are a significant challenges in South Africa and recent amendments to Section 18 of the National Environmental Management and Waste Act (Nemwa) regulations call for producer responsibility organisations (PROs) to cooperate with municipalities to increase the... →

Plastics SA executive director Anton Hanekom gives more insight into recent amendments to Section 18 of the National Environmental Management and Waste Act (Nemwa). Video: Recorded on Zoom. Editing: Creamer Media's Nicholas Boyd.

Davies calls for a New Deal-style recovery strategy that eschews austerity

By: Terence Creamer 28th May 2021 Former Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies is urging the South African government, in which he served as a Cabinet Minister from 2009 to 2019, to implement a New Deal-style recovery programme to address the economic damage arising from both Covid-19 and more than a decade of economic drift.... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Dr Rob Davies

UCT professor elected as fellow of South African Academy of Engineering

By: Donna Slater 28th May 2021 University of Cape Town (UCT) chemical engineering professor Harro von Blottnitz has been elected a fellow of the South African Academy of Engineering (SAAE), thereby placing him among an elite group of 213 fellows who stand between the worlds of academia and industry, and who are considered... →

University of Cape Town chemical engineering professor Harro von Blottnitz

Looming environmental crises to require $8.1tr by 2050 to mitigate impacts

By: Donna Slater 28th May 2021 A report into the climate, biodiversity and land degradation crises reveals that, to tackle these matters, a total investment in nature of $8.1-trillion is required over the next three decades, amounting to $536-billion a year by 2050. United Nations (UN) Environmental Programme executive... →

Atlas shines light on world's vulnerable and critical rangelands

By: Donna Slater 28th May 2021 The Rangelands Atlas, published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on May 27, reveals that 54% of the world’s land surface consists of vast tracts of land covered by grass, shrubs or sparse, hardy vegetation – rangelands – that supports millions of pastoralists, hunter-gatherers,... →

SA is in third wave of pandemic – AfroCentric

By: Sane Dhlamini 27th May 2021 JSE-listed, diversified majority black-owned health group AfroCentric has revealed that its latest data confirms that South Africa is experiencing a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. AfroCentric confirmed a surge in Covid-19 admissions in the Northern Cape, the North West, the Free State and... →

African Climate Foundation launches Strategic Framework

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 25th May 2021 As the continent marked Africa Day, strategic climate change grant-making foundation the African Climate Foundation on May 25 launched its Strategic Framework for 2021 to 2025. Speaking at the launch, executive director Saliem Fakir said the framework was a guiding, directional document that set... →

Transnet aims to implement three private sector participation projects this year

By: Terence Creamer 25th May 2021 Freight logistics group Transnet expects to proceed with three private sector participation (PSP) projects before the end of the year, with Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan confirming that the State-owned group’s new strategy is to drive volume growth “by developing key strategic... →

Li-ion batteries provide development opportunity for South Africa

By: Simone Liedtke 25th May 2021 As electric mobility and energy storage increases its share of the transport and energy sectors, the demand for batteries is rising, with lithium-ion batteries (LIB) dominating the market. While research by Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) indicates that South Africa’s vibrant venture... →

Eskom debt solution remains a ‘work in progress’ despite reduction to R401bn

By: Terence Creamer 25th May 2021 Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan reported on Tuesday that, while Eskom was able to reduce its debt by R83-billion, from R484-billion to R401-billion, during the 2021 financial year, efforts to find a lasting solution to the State-owned utility’s unsustainable debt remained a “work in... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan

SANEDI encourages consumers to identify appliance energy efficiency labels

By: Donna Slater 25th May 2021 To mitigate climate change and help move South Africans towards being more energy efficient in the way they use electrical devices, the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) is encouraging individuals to consider their household energy use and find avenues to reduce... →

Standard Bank to publish climate strategy in 2022

By: Marleny Arnoldi 21st May 2021 Financial services provider Standard Bank Group has committed to publishing a climate strategy, as well as short-, medium- and long-term targets to reduce its exposure to fossil fuel assets on a timeline aligned with the Paris Agreement. The company will publish these pieces of policy in the... →

Exxaro says decarbonisation journey is imperative for growth

By: Marleny Arnoldi 21st May 2021 Although it is predominantly a coal producer, diversified miner Exxaro Resources says it supports the work of the Presidential Climate Change Coordinating Commission to reduce the country’s emissions in the context of overcoming poverty and inequality. “Climate change is one of the most... →

Geospatial issues impact inequality levels in Southern Africa

By: Sane Dhlamini 21st May 2021 Professor Vimal Ranchhod from the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit at the University of Cape Town (UCT) says data show there is a strong geospatial component when it comes to serious inequality in Southern Africa. He was addressing a virtual debate organised by the Embassy of... →

Company ready for Covid-19 medical waste surge

By: Theresa Bhowan-Rajah 21st May 2021 Waste and recycling company Averda says it has treated more than 600 000 kg of Covid-19 waste in January this year. “This represents a significant increase in the volume of medical waste, compared with those of previous months. Only a month prior, in December 2020, at the peak of the second wave,... →

KEEP IT CLEAN Averda, which has extensive medical waste treatment facilities located in City Deep Johannesburg, Klerksdorp, George and Killarney Gardens has made provision for the possible third Covid-19 wave

Fugitive dust reduced on mine haulage roads

By: Theresa Bhowan-Rajah 21st May 2021 Owing to the dust emissions generated on mine haulage roads and the growing health concerns associated with Covid-19, environmental management company I-CAT has developed the GreenBit dust-suppression solution. The water-soluble and easy-to-apply product improves tyre grip while reducing the need... →

LESS DUST I-CAT manufacturing plant

New research shows South Africa well-placed to export ‘green iron’ to EU

By: Terence Creamer 20th May 2021 Initial research conducted for the Deep Decarbonisation Pathways (DDP) project in collaboration with the National Business Initiative (NBI) indicates that there is an emerging opportunity for South Africa to produce so-called “green iron” for export to international steelmakers seeking to... →

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