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Mail & Guardian
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Offshore oil and gas development in South Africa is governed, among others, by the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998, as amended in 2022, and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.

Mozambique: Gas is not part of Africa’s solution to climate change

The effects of offshore gas projects contribute to a humanitarian crisis, and mainly only the companies and countries of the north benefit from the profits and commodities

Hemp can play an important role in dealing with climate change and pollution

Sky’s the limit for industrial hemp farming in SA

After more than a century of monopoly control under Eskom, South Africa is shifting towards a competitive multi-market electricity system, (Eskom)

Some 32 000 people could die if SA doesn’t switch to greener power sooner

People who live close to coal-fired power plants continue to fall ill from breathing in dirty air

In recent years, research Wright and colleagues led has highlighted how prolonged heat exposure places outdoor workers, children, older people and low-income communities at increased risk of dehydration, heat stress, respiratory illness and other adverse health outcomes. The risks are expected to intensify as temperatures continue to rise. (Envato Elements)

Why our changing climate is bad for your health

The Earth is getting hotter and extreme weather events are becoming more common. It’s bad news for all aspects of our lives

The Presidential Climate Commission has objected to extending coal-fired power stations beyond their natural lifespan. (Waldo Swiegers/Getty Images)

Extending coal plants lifespan will not solve anything, says Crispian Olver

Climate commission presents its recommendations to Ramaphosa, highlighting that it is vital to decommission crumbling plants as soon as the power crunch eases

Glaciers in a third of all World Heritage sites, including Africa’s last remaining glaciers, are “condemned to disappear by 2050”. (AFP)

Africa will lose its few remaining glaciers by 2050

Globally glaciers in World Heritage sites outside the polar ice sheets with areas less than 10km² may almost disappear

TOPSHOT – Nono, an elderly maize farmer, inspects maize which has been hung out to dry in Qunu on June 28, 2013. Qunu is where former South African President Nelson Mandela grew up. Mandela, who turns 95 next month, was rushed to hospital three weeks ago with a recurrent lung disease. AFP PHOTO/Carl de Souza […]

Study: Bill Gates promoted fertilisers are more damaging than previously thought

No to ‘climate-stupid’ agriculture

The global financier announced that it had approved a $1 billion loan to help the country’s shift to cleaner forms of energy

Reforming Sasol and Eskom: South Africa’s ‘carbon criminals’

South Africa’s biggest polluters but they say they’re turning the ship around, but concerns remain over the use of gas as a fossil fuel in their proposals

Six countries house the Earth’s African lung — Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Republic of the Congo.

Congo Basin: Earth’s African ‘lung’ is it most resilient

The Congo Basin – the world’s second-biggest rainforest – resists extreme heat and drought and deserves the spotlight at COP26

The climate models that have built on the winners’ research form a crucial part of the evidence on which leaders at the upcoming United Nations Climate Conference — COP26 — will base their decisions.

Trio shares Nobel prize for groundbreaking climate science over 60 years

Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi have been announced as the joint winners

Digitalisation and automation will help with health and safety issues in South Africa’s mining industry.  (Russell Scott, Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool; Anglo American)

Gold‌ ‌is‌ ‌mining’s‌ ‌biggest‌ ‌jobs‌ ‌loser,‌ ‌as‌ ‌platinum‌ ‌rakes‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌cash‌

The industry has lost 23 000 jobs since 2012, according to a Statistics South Africa census

Toxic concentrations: Satellite data found that Permian methane emissions are the highest ever measured from a US oil and gas basin. Photo: Environmental Defence Fund

Satellites launched to determine source of methane, carbon dioxide emissions

A project by Carbon Matter will map the concentration of methane and carbon dioxide worldwide. This will help to detect leaks so they can be repaired

A man tends to vegetables in a field as emissions rise from nearby cooling towers of a coal-fired power station in Tongling, Anhui province, China. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

China launches carbon market as it aims to reduce emissions

China’s emissions exceed those of developed countries, in large part because of its population of more than 1.4-billion people

Restoration: Illegal charcoal production and logging are the main threats to the conservation of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Alexis Huguet/AFP)

Afforestation can hinder fight against global warming if done wrong, study says

A simplistic approach to tree restoration without not properly accounting for the complexities of plant and atmosphere interactions can cause problems

Over-exploitation has degraded billions of hectares of land

The well-being of about 3.2-billion people, 40% of the world’s population, has been harmed

Global greenhouse-gas emissions should have their numbers dwindle if we remain faithful to emerging technologies. Photo: Supplied

Move to renewable energy must be people-centred, report says

New International Energy Agency report says policy changes will play pivotal role in reducing greenhouse emissions by 2050

Rebuilding the SA economy more sustainably – and for greater impact

Covid-19 has devastated the economy, but it has also opened a window of opportunity for businesses

Carbon allowances exist when a government sets a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that can be emitted by an industry. Photo: Supplied

Carbon dioxide, methane levels surge despite Covid-19 lockdowns

Carbon dioxide levels are now higher than at any time in past 3.6-million years

The South African agricultural sector is on solid ground for now and we shouldn’t be worried — but we should be vigilant.

Climate crisis threatens future maize production in SA and Lesotho

Climate change not only affects the nutritional value of food crops, but also leaves the food supply system vulnerable to production shocks, study finds

Dim it: Most people around the world live under light-polluted night skies in urban areas. But rural areas are being affected too, such as gas and oil producing areas in the United States. (Bettymaya Foott)

Cities need to embrace dark night skies

Brightness harms people’s and other creatures’ health, disrupts ecosystems and changes climate