The weekend before the biggest UN climate conference of the decade in Paris, the world will stand together in a weekend of global action in world-wide People's Climate March. This is to send a powerful message to governments meeting in Paris: keep fossil fuels in the ground and finance a just transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050. Last year, the People's Climate March … [Read more...]
Renewables to meet energy needs in Africa and beyond
Attracting 3 600 delegates from 82 countries, the South African International Renewable Energy Conference was officially opened by the South African Minister of Energy, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, in Cape Town today. The sixth in a series of International Renewable Energy Conferences (IRECs), first held in Bonn, Germany in 2004, SAIREC is the first such conference to take … [Read more...]
Bangladeshi Prime Minister wins UN climate prize
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh has been announced as one of the winners of the United Nations Champions of the Earth award in recognition of her country’s initiatives to address climate change. “Serving as Prime Minister of Bangladesh – one of the world’s least-developed countries – Sheikh Hasina has proven that investing in climate change is conducive to … [Read more...]
Rich-poor climate reconciliation in sight at UN talks
The UN climate process is a complex beast, but at its heart lies a debate over the balance of responsibilities between rich and poor. It’s a pointed subject right now as the global climate change architecture is being reconfigured, with December’s Paris summit the endgame venue. In previous deals, the 42 countries deemed industrialised in 1992, plus post-Soviet states, … [Read more...]
World’s forests face a decisive year according to UN report
The world's forests face a "decisive year" as nations prepare to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals and gather for key climate talks. In a UN report on forests, senior official Jose Graziano da Silva called slowing deforestation rates "positive". Area the size of South Africa lost since 1990 But he added that "this positive trend needs strengthening," as the report … [Read more...]
SA to host the next International Renewable Energy Conference
The Government of South Africa announced that it has teamed up with REN21 – the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century - to organise the next International Renewable Energy Conference (IREC) in South Africa in autumn 2015. Dedicated exclusively to the renewable energy sector, IREC is a high-level political conference series hosted by a national government … [Read more...]
COP20 closes with even weaker climate pact
After two weeks of negotiations, the world community has yet again failed to take any meaningful actions to prevent landmark global warming and instead has produced a "roadmap to global burning," leading climate campaigners lamented upon the close of the United Nations COP20 climate talks in Lima, Peru on Sunday. In the wee hours of the morning, two days past the intended … [Read more...]
US and China Shake Hands on Carbon Deal
The United States and China are the world’s two biggest economies, the largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), and the largest historical emitters of GHGs. China’s population is well over 1 billion people, with a rapidly expanding middle class and an economy that has been accelerating at breakneck speed for the past two decades. If the climate crisis is to be … [Read more...]
Register now for marine & coastal educators conference
All those promoting awareness and education of the marine environment are gathering in Gauteng from 11-16 January 2015 to share research, classroom and field activities and be energized with new ideas. Now is the time to book for the 15th Marine and Coastal Educators Network (MCEN) Conference, which brings together formal and informal educators from schools, public … [Read more...]
Science turns to religion for “mass mobilisation” on environmental change
Ahead of the UN summit on climate change, two leading scholars in the field make a watershed appeal to religious leaders for help in mobilising public opinion on the planet's future. An organisation like the Catholic Church is remarkably effective at leading a famine relief campaign. These are mechanisms that we should be using to tackle other global problems, including … [Read more...]
Wired for waste at WasteCon 2014
Are South African businesses and municipalities ready to make sustainable waste management decisions? The new National Environmental Management Waste Amendment Act, Act 26 of 2014 (NEMWAA 2014) published on 02 June 2014, is facilitating a shift towards new developments and better processes in the industry – something all organisations should be aware of. At this year’s … [Read more...]
Getting to grips with the shale gas industry
South Africa’s energy policy is going through a rethink in the highest corridors of power with the government declaring a waning interest in coal, and reconsidering its Integrated Resource Plan focus on nuclear and showing a keen focus on natural gas, including shale gas, and hydropower. The discovery and possible exploration development of shale gas in the Karoo is set to … [Read more...]
Sustainability Week brings lively debate to green issues
Another stellar line-up of conferences, seminars and public lectures took place at this year’s Sustainability Week (17 to 19 June 2014), at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria. The Tshwane Green Outreach Programme was launched on Tuesday, 17 June 2014 as Councillor Kgosientso Ramokgopa (left), Executive Mayor of Tshwane, explained the city’s vision for 2055. … [Read more...]
