The African Group of countries at the United Nations climate negotiations reacted with disappointment at the latest statements by the Obama administration on the global climate talks.

South Africa has been granted US$3.5m for integrated fire management programmes in the Fynbos biome, a fire-dependent ecosystem particularly vulnerable to unwanted wildland fire triggered by climate change.

The current icy weather, which has brought snow and ice to widespread areas of Gauteng and closed Van Reenen’s Pass in KwaZulu-Natal, has highlighted the need for businesses transporting cargo around the country to put risk management strategies in place to protect themselves from massive potential losses in damages and delays.

Climate change is accelerating, but there’s a massive ray of hope: clean energy is booming, producing nearly 20% of the world's electricity! Incredibly, the US and EU are threatening to stifle this breakthrough - but together we can stop them.

Members of the civil society have reacted angrily at the manner in which the latest round of UN climate talks in Bangkok ended and said it is apparent that the annual UN summit in Doha later this year would approve a plan to take no further action on climate change this decade.

The latest round of international climate change talks is poised to start, with numerous questions about clean tech funding and negotiation roadmap unresolved.

A recent meeting in Bonn, between governments, major financial institutions, private sector entities and civil society, has resulted in progression toward a common understanding of how to mobilize long-term financing for developing countries, to help them limit greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.

Twenty years ago, the United Nations summit held in Rio de Janeiro paved the way for landmark agreements on the climate and the environment. This year's meeting, on the other hand, has been widely criticized for its lack of vision in the face of accelerating degradation of the planet.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has a plan which aims to increase innovation, hope, passion and momentum for action against climate change.

With the Rio+20 conference weeks away, the latest round of informal negotiations between governments took place late last month.

Cabinet has officially endorsed a ‘Carbon Capture and Storage Roadmap’ as one of the instruments for lowering the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of South Africa’s coal-intensive energy system.

Ministers and high-level officials from 32 countries that met informally in Bonn want to build on the strong momentum of the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, by making sure the decisions are effectively implemented, with the curbing of greenhouse gas emissions.

Across the planet now we see ever more flood, ever more drought, ever more storms. People are dying, communities are being wrecked — the impacts we’re already witnessing from climate change are unlike anything we have seen before.

We have entered the Anthropocene Epoch, where human influence will leave marks on this planet that may be comparable to an Ice Age. Professor Mark New opened his inaugural lecture as Pro Vice Chancellor for Climate Change and Director of the African Climate and Development initiative at UCT with a grim outline of the picture the research data is sketching.

I am overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness when I consider the task humanity faces of adapting the complexities of our current ‘civilization’ to a more sustainable & equitable path. It is starting to look as if the politicians cannot save us, as evidenced by the disappointing results of COP17.

The Africa Chapter and members of Working Group II (WG II) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was hosted by the Faculty of Law at the Stellenbosch University recently.

The full publication of the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation "provides us with the impetus for action to save the world from the worst that climate change can bring to our planet in the coming years." So said the Intergovernental UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) when the report went live on 31 March.

Significantly greater response to the threats of climate change resulted in the toughest year yet for judges of the Climate Change Leadership Awards, who announced the 10 category winners at a carbon neutral event in Sandton recently.

As the world commemorates International Women’s Day today, women around the globe are speaking out on various issues that affect them. In light of recent natural disasters and calamities in the Philippines, women are increasingly citing climate change as one of their most pressing concerns.

At the turn of 2009/2010, local filmmaker Daréll Lourens and her friend Simone van Keulen had the vision of Earth Junkies, an eco- awareness journey aiming to travel overland through Africa, the Middle East and Europe and work with children to foster ecological citizenship in their foundation years. 2 years have passed and the project has finally realized.