The cabinet of South Africa has approved the establishment of the Presidential Climate Change Coordinating Commission on the 9th of September 2020. Its mandate is to coordinate the implementation of South Africa’s Low Emissions Development Strategy, and the revised National Waste Management Strategy 2020. The Commission also will coordinate the just transition to a low...
In South Africa, there are numerous environmental organisations that work to minimise the impacts of climate change and strengthen South Africa’s biodiversity. These organisations are involved in different conservation and research projects that aim to reduce the degradation of the natural environment, protect vulnerable communities and ecosystems and influence the decision making for the future...
South Africa does not report green jobs independently in any of its major surveys or statistics of employment, nor does it report the growth of green industries. There is not an official agreed definition of green jobs, either. However, there have been significant efforts from different organizations to measure the role of the green economy...
South Africa is ranked as the second most inequitable country in the world. South Africa’s vulnerability to climate change is exacerbated by the economic inequality, poverty, and our current dependency on coal-fired power generation. The ability to adapt to climate change may be characterised by the same inequalities that have become the fault lines of...
In South Africa, there are several places at particular risk of abrupt disruption to biodiversity in a high-emissions scenario. The coast from Cape Agulhas to Mozambique, inland areas on the western side of the Western Cape Province up to the Namibian border, the entire Northern Cape Province, and parts of the Free State are all...
South Africa is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 given its levels of poverty, unemployment, inequality, and vulnerable employment, as well as the prevalence of HIV and tuberculosis. An R500 billion economic and social support package was announced by the President as the government’s response to stimulate economic recovery hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The bulk of...
The South African electricity supply industry remains dominated by the state-owned and vertically integrated utility, Eskom. Coal is the major driver of the energy sector in the country. Although coal is the utility’s primary energy source in South Africa, the use of renewable sources for electricity generation has increased in the last few years. As...
After years of deliberation, South Africa introduced a carbon pricing system in June 2019. Climate change is one of the leading challenges facing human kind and the primary objective of the carbon tax is to minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a sustainable, cost effective and affordable manner. Consequently, the President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into...
Earlier in the month of November 2019, the Constitutional Court refused a mining company’s final challenge of a 2018 High Court decision to set aside Ministerial approvals for a proposed coal mine in South Africa. The Constitutional Court had the final say on the approvals for a coal mine inside an Mpumalanga Protected Area and...
