http://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Follow @EngNewsZA

Topic

'The future we don't want is already happening' – climate change expert

By: News24Wire 20th June 2018 The future we don't want is already happening with more intense droughts, floods, heat waves, blackouts, food shortages and sea levels gradually rising. It may sound like a post-apocalyptic movie, but delegates to the Adaptation Futures 2018 conference in Cape Town heard that these climate change... →

Energy efficiency could massively reduce global carbon emissions

8th June 2018 Renewable energy and energy efficiency are the cornerstone of the world’s solution to energy-related carbon emissions, and can provide over 90% of the energy-related carbon emission reductions required to keep global temperature rise to 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, says International... →

Companies urged to accelerate carbon cuts

By: Kim Cloete 8th June 2018 South Africa needs to speed up its efforts to cut carbon emissions in tune with a more sustainable future, say analysts. Joanne Henstock, Africa Executive Director for Governance, Integrated Reporting and Sustainability at EY, says South Africa faces significant challenges in achieving its... →

Big investors urge G7 to step up climate action, shift from coal

By: Reuters 4th June 2018 Institutional investors with $26-trillion in assets under management called on Group of Seven leaders on Monday to phase out the use of coal in power generation to help limit climate change, despite strong opposition from Washington. Government plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions were too weak... →

EU, US trade envoys meet on tariffs, outcome unclear

By: Reuters 30th May 2018 European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met in Paris on Wednesday to discuss looming US import tariffs on EU steel and aluminium, the European Commission said, but declined to speculate on the final outcome. US President Donald Trump has imposed... →

Ottawa buys Kinder Morgan pipeline, expansion project for C$4.5bn

By: Henry Lazenby 29th May 2018 Ottawa announced on Tuesday that it has reached agreement with pipeline builder and operator Kinder Morgan to buy the existing Trans Mountain pipeline and associated controversial expansion project for C$4.5-billion, in the clearest-yet government signal that the oil expansion project is of... →

Transport Decarbonisation Alliance launched

By: Simone Liedtke 25th May 2018 The Transport Decarbonisation Alliance (TDA), a coalition aiming to catalyse the accelerated decarbonisation of the transport sector, was launched earlier this week in Leipzig, Germany, as part of the International Transport Forum (ITF). Rail transport company Alstom and partner companies, cities... →

LafargeHolcim to cut 200 jobs as Paris, Zurich offices axed

By: Reuters 25th May 2018 LafargeHolcim will close its corporate offices in Paris and Zurich, eliminating 200 jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive, the world's largest cement maker said on Friday. The Franco-Swiss company confirmed the long-mooted closure of its Paris HQ, which was reported by Reuters on Thursday. →

465 TWh of renewable energy sourced by companies in 2017 – Irena

By: Simone Liedtke 24th May 2018 Companies in 75 countries actively sourced 465 TWh of renewable energy in 2017, an amount close to the overall electricity demand of France, a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) states. With the continued decline in the costs of renewables, the report suggests that... →

The Just Transition debate in South Africa

By: Saliem Fakir 18th May 2018 South Africa is the only country that explicitly includes in its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) a mention of the Just Transition – this is as far as I know. The issue of a just transition raised its head recently when the National Union of Metalworkers South Africa (Numsa) and a... →

Contrasting performances for Sub-Saharan African, European miners – BMI

By: Simone Liedtke 17th May 2018 Europe and sub-Saharan Africa are on opposite ends of BMI Research’s Mining Risk and Reward Index (RRI), as can be seen with Europe’s significantly stronger performance in country and industry risk indicators, while sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag in country reward scores. The country reward... →

Congo billionaire seeks French loan to develop iron-ore railway

By: Bloomberg 17th May 2018 Paul Obambi, a billionaire investor in the Congo Republic, is in talks with French lenders to fund a railway he’s building to export iron-ore. Obambi’s company Sapro SA is negotiating with “a consortium of banks” to finance the 450-km track that will link the southwestern town of Mayoko to a... →

Norway postpones decision on carbon capture plant, drops Yara

By: Reuters 15th May 2018 Norway postponed a final decision on whether to go ahead with a project to develop Europe's first industrial carbon capture and offshore storage (CCS) project, after dropping one of its participants, Yara International . The government said on Tuesday that fertiliser maker Yara's site, one of... →

Louis Dreyfus completes $466m sale of metals unit to Chinese fund

By: Reuters 11th May 2018 Louis Dreyfus Company said on Friday it had completed the sale of its metals business to a Chinese investment fund for $466-million, as part of a push to revive profits by focusing on its core agricultural markets. Louis Dreyfus announced in December an agreement to sell LDC Metals to NCCL... →

Tackling shipping sector’s carbon emissions

By: Saliem Fakir 27th April 2018 Shipping emissions is an area that has not fallen under the rubric of United Nations Framework for Climate Change (UNFCCC). The shipping industry has, by and large, avoided scrutiny of its own contribution to climate change. Given that the shipping industry’s infrastructure will be exposed to the... →

Daimler joins China's Responsible Cobalt initiative

By: Reuters 25th April 2018 German carmaker Daimler has joined the Responsible Cobalt Initiative, a programme established under a Chinese industry body to tackle risks in the cobalt supply chain arising from artisanal mining. Cobalt consumers are under pressure to ensure the material they use is not tainted by child labour... →

McCloskey International Set to Showcase New Compact Crusher at Intermat 2018

17th April 2018 Intermat visitors will have a chance to view the most recent addition to McCloskey International’s product portfolio, the I34R compact impact crusher, during Intermat Paris, 23-28 April 2018. This exciting new highly mobile machine will be on display outside the entrance to Hall 6 for the... →

Four South African cities strive to make all new buildings zero-carbon

By: Simone Liedtke 16th April 2018 Residents and businesses moving into new buildings in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Tshwane will soon enjoy lower energy bills, and will generate fewer greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, reducing their climate change impact. High-efficiency energy performance requirements are being developed... →

Ex-Microsoft manager lands Responsible Cobalt Initiative role

By: Reuters 29th March 2018 A former manager for Microsoft Corp in China has been named as the first executive secretary of the Responsible Cobalt Initiative (RCI), which works to address social and environmental risks in the cobalt supply chain. Christina Feng, who managed the US tech giant's programme for the responsible... →

EIB pumps $25m into off-grid solar project

By: Marleny Arnoldi 28th March 2018 The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided $25-million in financing for off-grid solar lighting company d.light to strengthen access to energy in Africa. →

G20 agrees to 'monitor' cryptocurrencies but no action yet

By: Reuters 21st March 2018 Financial policymakers from the world's top 20 economies agreed to keep a watchful eye on cryptocurrencies on Tuesday and opened the door to regulating the booming industry at a later stage. Wild swings in the price of Bitcoin, the best known of a myriad of digital currencies issued by private... →

Europe’s FlixBus to test electric buses on long-distance bus network

By: Irma Venter 16th March 2018 Europe’s largest long-distance mobility provider, FlixBus, will be the first company worldwide to test electric buses (e-buses) on its longer-distance bus routes. Beginning in April, the first all-electric Flix-E-Buses will begin test operations on the 150 km route between Paris and Amiens,... →

Relaxed export, production quotas an 'inflection point' for Chile's lithium industry

By: Henry Lazenby 16th March 2018 In the days following conservative billionaire Sebastian Pinera being sworn in as president of Chile for a second term on Sunday, the new government is signalling a more relaxed approach to the hot-button issue of lithium production and exports. This week's announcement that the Chilean Nuclear... →

New energy, environment partnership to further continental economy

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 12th March 2018 A new Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP) trust fund, covering Southern and East Africa was launched on Monday, with a combined commitment of €25-million from Finland and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF). The EEP is a multidonor fund providing early-stage grant and catalytic financing to... →

Scientists call for greater action on climate change

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 12th March 2018 The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) has joined the global science community in calling on the Commonwealth Heads of Government to use the best available science to guide action on climate change. The call forms part of a Consensus Statement on Climate Change, launched on Monday by 22... →

CSIR makes progress on first African climate change model

By: Natasha Odendaal 9th March 2018 The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is making progress in developing the first Africa-based earth system model to provide reliable projections of the potential impact of climate change on the continent. The model will provide input into the coupled model intercomparison... →

AfDB secures $52.5m to fund renewable energy projects in Zambia

By: Marleny Arnoldi 7th March 2018 The board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved the first funding proposal of the African Development Bank (AfDB) for Zambia’s renewable energy financing framework, providing a $50-million loan and a $2.5-million grant. →

German ruling likely blessing in disguise for platinum - RBPlat

By: Martin Creamer 6th March 2018 The German Federal Court ruling on diesel car emissions, which could cost transgressors eight-billion euros in fines a year, is seen as a likely blessing in disguise for platinum, Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) CEO Steve Phiri said on Tuesday. The global backlash against diesel-engine cars,... →

Deal with excess steel capacity in global forum, OECD says

By: Reuters 6th March 2018 Excess steel capacity should be dealt with in a global forum for the problem to avoid an escalation of trade disputes, OECD chief Angel Gurria said on Tuesday following the Trump administration's plans to introduce import tariffs. Leaders of Group of 20 economic powers set up the Global Forum on... →

South African Budget Speech 2018 – Additional Tax Proposals

6th March 2018 Conor McFadden, partner at Fasken in Johannesburg The Minister of Finance, Malusi Gigaba, delivered South Africa’s 2018 Budget speech to Parliament on 21 February 2018. For the first time since 1993 the rate of Value-Added Tax (VAT) will be increased by one per cent in an attempt to fund the void... →

Concrete products assuaging industry’s aesthetic predilection

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 2nd March 2018 With the recent trend of aesthetic appearance playing a more prominent role in construction and the built environment, construction chemicals company Chryso Southern Africa and its 100%-owned subsidiary a.b.e Construction Chemicals are offering a number of aesthetic concrete product ranges to... →

Diesel cars can be banned from German cities, court rules

By: Reuters 27th February 2018 German cities can ban the most heavily polluting diesel cars from their streets, a court ruled on Tuesday, a move likely to be mirrored in other parts of Europe and to force automakers to pay to improve exhaust systems or switch to cleaner vehicles. There has been a global backlash against... →

Burkina Faso seeks new partner for $1bn manganese project

By: Bloomberg 22nd February 2018 Burkina Faso is looking for a new partner to mine the world’s largest manganese deposit after rights disputes thwarted two earlier attempts to develop the $1-billion project. Pan African Minerals, a unit of Timis Mining, was told to stop production at the Tambao mine in 2015 following a change in... →

CSIR publishes latest Atlas to guide response to climate change

By: Natasha Odendaal 21st February 2018 The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has published the second edition of the South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas (Sarva), alongside the relaunch of the newly revamped online portal, to help business navigate current research on the risk and vulnerability of key social... →

Climate change driving energy innovation

By: Anine Kilian 21st February 2018 Climate change is a major driver of global energy innovation, says Clinton Foundation climate initiative senior regional manager Fiona Wilson. Speaking at the Africa Energy Indaba, in Johannesburg, on Wednesday, she said climate change has not just become an environmental concern, but also an... →

Eramet eyes expansion in electric vehicle metals

By: Reuters 20th February 2018 Eramet CEO Christel Bories said on Tuesday that the French mining group is looking to expand in minerals like cobalt, lithium and nickel salts linked to energy transition markets like electric vehicles. Eramet is actively looking at acquisition targets after previously acquiring a lithium deposit... →

Wind energy installations continue to grow – WWEA

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 12th February 2018 The overall capacity of all wind turbines installed worldwide by the end of 2017 reached 539 291 MW, preliminary statistics published by World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) has shown. A WWEA report, released on Monday, further showed that 52 552 MW of wind energy capacity were added last year,... →

Hotels urged to capitalise on sharing economy

By: Schalk Burger 2nd February 2018 The hospitality industry is facing strenuous competition from short-term rental services provided through the Internet, such as those provided by Airbnb, so hoteliers should see how they can join in, says renowned Swiss hospitality management school Ecole hôteliere de Lausanne senior lecturer... →

About

Engineering News is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa
Polity

Newsletters

Sign up for our FREE daily email newsletter

Receive daily sector news alerts

More

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Engineering News is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options

Subscribe