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Environmental News

Creecy calls for increased cooperation on biodiversity in Kruger park

By: Yvonne Silaule 1st July 2022 Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy says cooperation on biodiversity conservation is key on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park. The Minister was speaking during her engagement with representatives of the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR),... →

Best practices, governance can create sustainable local wildlife economies

By: Schalk Burger 1st July 2022 Sustainable wildlife economies that directly benefit local communities and provide resources to support development, can be created, but require best practices and standardisation to ensure the quality, safety and marketability of products and services, as well as transparency across the value... →

New financing mechanism underpins early climate warnings, adaptation

By: Schalk Burger 1st July 2022 The United Nations Systematic Observation Financing Facility (SOFF) is a new financing mechanism for climate action that has become operational and underpins early warnings and adaptation. The finance mechanism aims to strengthen weather and climate observations, improve early warnings to save... →

Enviro dept to reconsider authorisation for Kendal ash dump life extension

By: Donna Slater 1st July 2022 An application to appeal the rejection of an environmental authorisation for Eskom’s Kendal power station to extend the life of its ash dump to 30 years has been set aside by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for reconsideration. The Kendal power station applied... →

Manufacturer now offers new stainless steel braided hose

1st July 2022 Earlier this year, industrial hose specialist Truco announced it had started manufacturing stainless steel braided hose at its Chamdor campus in Johannesburg, Gauteng. Initial capabilities are for hose assemblies from 6 mm to 25 cm in diameter. →

A reel of stainless steel braided hose which is impervious to fire chemicals and pressure

STEELING THE SHOW The new sheet braided hose offered by Truco is ideal for use across a range of industries

Sappi achieves EcoVadis platinum rating for third time

By: Marleny Arnoldi 29th June 2022 Pulp and paper manufacturer Sappi has, for the third consecutive year, achieved a platinum rating in the EcoVadis Corporate Social Responsibility assessment for its manufacturing operations in Europe, North America and Southern Africa. This places Sappi in the top 1% of all 90 000 companies... →

Anglo investing in expansion of organic waste upcycling company Sanergy

By: Schalk Burger 28th June 2022 Diversified mining multinational Anglo American is leading the latest investment round of organic waste upcycling business Sanergy, which has operations in Kenya. Sanergy's solutions are helping to transform how fast-growing cities in the developing world manage waste by upcycling it into... →

G7 to allow fossil-fuel financing if climate pledges are kept

By: Bloomberg 28th June 2022 Group of Seven (G7) nations are set to allow some exceptional public financing of overseas fossil-fuel projects to continue provided that the investments are consistent with prior climate-change agreements, according to people familiar with the matter. The final text of the leaders’ statement,... →

UK to guarantee $2bn of AfDB debt to boost climate fight

By: Bloomberg 27th June 2022 The UK has agreed to guarantee $2-billion of the debt the African Development Bank has extended to governments on the continent, allowing the lender to free up finance for climate-related projects. The additional lending capacity will be used to fund projects for climate resilience and renewable... →

Renewed focus on South Africa's Just Energy Transition Partnership

24th June 2022 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the fresh attention this week on the $8.5-billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P) between South Africa and various developed countries; the importance of South Africa finalising a JET-P investment... →

Renewed focus on South Africa's Just Energy Transition Partnership

Is it possible to convert old coal mines into successful farms?

By: Darren Parker 24th June 2022 The rehabilitation of South Africa’s closed coal mines has long been a source of contention among miners, environmental activists and affected communities. Numerous old mines were not rehabilitated at all, while many others were rehabilitated to within only the bare minimum requirements of the... →

New waterjet machine bought

By: Halima Frost 24th June 2022 To meet growing demand for specialised cutting services, waterjet cutting specialist Aquajet has procured a new precision waterjet machine from jet machining manufacturer Omax to complement its three existing Omax machines. “The machine is part of our ambitious expansion, which aims to increase... →

BIGGER BETTER The larger premises and addition of new machines will increase productivity output for Aquajet

Green ratings offer benefits during economic crunch

By: Cameron Mackay 24th June 2022 Premium and Grade-A offices that are Green Star-certified provide an average one-year income return of 8.4, compared to an average of 8.3 for non-Green Star-certified Prime and Grade-A offices, according to the MSCI South Africa 2021 Green Annual Property Index. Further, vacancy rates – based on... →

Image of Redefine Properties chief sustainability officer Anelisa Keke

ANELISA KEKE Redefine has been instrumental in selecting appropriate buildings for certification and recertification, in consultation with our external advisers

US wants South Africa’s just transition investment plan aligned with lower end of decarbonisation pledge

By: Terence Creamer 23rd June 2022 South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership Investment Plan, or JETP-IP, should be geared towards projects that will support the country in meeting the lower end of its new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), a senior US Treasury official has indicated. Ahead of the 2021 COP26 climate... →

Solar panels at the Komati power station, where some initial JETP projects could be located

Cabinet encourages more S Africans to vaccinate as it ends mask mandate

By: Sane Dhlamini 23rd June 2022 Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said on Thursday that while Cabinet welcomed a significant drop in Covid-19 cases in the country, it is urging more South Africans to vaccinate against the virus, as South Africa joins the many countries that have done away with mask-wearing. Joining... →

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla

WWF report calls for insurers to block high-impact hydropower projects

By: Darren Parker 22nd June 2022 Nonprofit organisation the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has released a comprehensive Insurers’ Guide to Hydropower, which calls for insurers to block high-impact hydropower projects, while offering advice on the assessment and management of the risks posed by hydropower to people, nature and... →

The Industry Transition: A Pathway to Decarbonising the Hard-to-Abate

By: Simone Liedtke 21st June 2022 The hard to abate sectors currently produce more than a third of the worlds’ climate chaining emissions, which we must sharply curtail if we are to hold global warming to 1.5ºC. Yet, they are integral to humanity and ultimately they ’re playing an integral role in reducing our reliance on fossil... →

Delay gas procurement until policy reflects big cost and emission shifts – study

By: Terence Creamer 20th June 2022 Before moving ahead with the procurement of gas-fired generation, South Africa should update both its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity and its Gas Master Plan to reflect prevailing renewables and battery costs, as well as the country’s carbon constraints, a new Meridian Economics... →

Study argues that deploying gas generators "optimally" as peakers implies that the electricity sector cannot anchor demand for LNG imports

Climate change conference president in South Africa to discuss just energy transition

By: Rebecca Campbell 20th June 2022 The President of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Alok Sharma of the UK, arrived in South Africa on Sunday, to support the implementation of the South Africa Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). He will depart the country on Tuesday. The JETP was announced at... →

Photo by UK Parliament
COP26 President Alok Sharma

Eaton to expand collaboration with Microsoft on grid-interactive UPS technology

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 17th June 2022 Intelligent power management company Eaton has announced it will expand its collaboration with technology group Microsoft to accelerate applications of its EnergyAware uninterruptible power system (UPS) technology in key segments worldwide. The expansion is part of a new strategic framework... →

GreenCape’s 2022 green economy market intelligence reports outline opportunities

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 15th June 2022 This year’s editions of nonprofit organisation GreenCape’s yearly green economy market intelligence reports (MIRs) have been made available. The reports were officially launched on June 7 by Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities Mireille Wenger and Western Cape Minister of... →

Information most important part to support greater investments into emerging markets

By: Schalk Burger 15th June 2022 Emerging markets need more funding to close developmental gaps and to adapt to a changing climate, and a better flow of information and greater accuracy of information can help to increase the flow of investment funding. Recent United Nations estimations indicate that emerging markets will need... →

Global clean energy transition not happening – REN21

By: Donna Slater 15th June 2022 According to global community of renewable energy actors REN21’s ‘Renewables 2022 Global Status Report’ (GSR), the global clean energy transition is not happening, making it unlikely that the world will be able to meet critical climate goals this decade. Despite promises of a worldwide green... →

Climate Commission sets sights on energy mix as it wraps up work on just transition framework

By: Terence Creamer 14th June 2022 The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) is initiating a process of research and consultation on South Africa’s future energy mix, which it aims to present to Cabinet before the end of 2022. Speaking at a conference hosted by the RES4Africa Foundation in Johannesburg, executive director Dr... →

PCC executive director Dr Crispian Olver

Nuclear-powered carbon capture technology project in the UK

By: Rebecca Campbell 14th June 2022 A UK-based consortium has reported that nuclear power plants (NPPs) could provide the heat necessary to enable a technology to capture carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere (an approach known as ‘direct air capture’ or DAC, for short). The consortium comprised EDF Sizewell C (a UK... →

New report outlines strategy for ending load-shedding by early 2024, but delivery hinges on ‘substantial political will’

By: Terence Creamer 13th June 2022 A comprehensive strategy for drastically reducing, or even eliminating, the scourge of rotational power cuts in South Africa by early 2024 has been outlined in a new public-interest report published by Meridian Economics. The authors warn, however, that load-shedding is poised to rise to extreme... →

Task team formed to investigate source of sulphur stench in Gauteng, North West

By: Schalk Burger 10th June 2022 The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has established a task team to investigate the complaints about the stench experienced over parts of Gauteng and North West in the past week. "Following complaints about the strong sulphuric smell over Gauteng and parts of North... →

Salesforce launches sustainability cloud for users to manage climate objectives

By: Schalk Burger 10th June 2022 Customer relationship management software multinational Salesforce has released its Net-Zero Cloud service, which takes data from disparate systems into a reporting platform so that companies can make informed calculations to drive their sustainability efforts, in South Africa. Salesforce... →

S African coatings event well attended

By: Halima Frost 10th June 2022 This year’s Coatings for Africa 2022 conference, organised by global events organiser DMG Events, was held at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Gauteng, from May 4 to 6. The event was hosted by multinational coatings industry representatives The Coatings Group and supported by industry bodies... →

A man standing at a podium speaking on the topic of coatings and paint development at teh Coatings for Africa 2022 expo held in Sandton last month

HOT TOPIC The Coatings for Africa event was held in Sandton last month after a four year haitus

Stench over Johannesburg sparks government probe

By: Bloomberg 9th June 2022 South Africa’s Environment Ministry is investigating a “stench” that has settled over Gauteng province, which includes the commercial hub of Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria, this week. The smell, which in the past has been caused by high levels of sulphur dioxide pollution, sparked... →

SANEDI releases first technical assessment towards Clean Coal Roadmap

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 9th June 2022 A new report from government organisation the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) on clean coal technologies has presented a case for potential opportunities and challenges associated with adopting these in a roadmap towards 2030. The report constitutes Phase 1 in a... →

PPC to embrace alternative building technologies

By: Darren Parker 8th June 2022 Cement producer PPC has taken the strategic decision to embrace alternative building technologies rather than oppose them, PPC South Africa MD Njombu Lekula has said. Speaking at the Smart African Cities Summit held in Midrand on June 8, he said the company had set up a new department to... →

Congo’s oil block sale threatens carbon sinks, forest pact

By: Bloomberg 8th June 2022 The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC's)plan to auction oil exploration blocks next month threatens to disrupt some of the world’s most important carbon sinks and could jeopardize a $500-million forest preservation agreement. Some of the blocks, estimated to contain 16 billion barrels of crude... →

Least developed countries demand emissions cuts, funds for climate impacts at Bonn conference

By: Schalk Burger 7th June 2022 At the Bonn Climate Change Conference, being held from June 6 to 16, in Germany, governments must commit to fair and ambitious action to cut emissions and provide adequate support to the poorest and most vulnerable, so that least developed countries (LDCs) can adapt to the impacts of climate... →

SRK completes SADC land outlook to help combat desertification

By: Schalk Burger 7th June 2022 Earth and water resource consultancy SRK Consulting completed a Global Land Outlook (GLO) study focused on Southern Africa on land-water-energy (LWE) systems and nexus points that can be used to leverage progress towards achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN). The ‘Regional Thematic Report... →

SRK partner and environmental consultant Darryll Kilian

Kenyan power lines re-routed to protect flamingos and pelicans

By: Bloomberg 7th June 2022 Kenya’s State-run electricity distribution company is re-configuring power lines to prevent the electrocution of birds such as flamingos, pelicans and cranes. Kenya Power and Lighting Co has re-routed a 33 kV power line outside Lake Nakuru National Park to prevent flamingos and pelicans from... →

Opinion: Environmental law in South Africa – a complex and evolving set of requirements

6th June 2022 In this article, Inlexso Legal Solutions environmental law adviser Morne Viljoen warns companies to not underestimate the complexity of environmental law and to plan for compliance early on in a project's development. →

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