Environmental Studies

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Environmental Studies News

COP 28 to host fossil fuels debate

By: Halima Frost 1st December 2023 This year’s Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, referred to globally as COP 28 and being held from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will look to address environmental issues, including decarbonisation... →

DFFE launches invasive plant removal programme

By: Marleny Arnoldi 17th November 2023 The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has launched a five-year R2.67-billion Working for Water Programme aimed at eradicating invasive alien plants in communities. The programme will result in just under 39 000 job opportunities being created every year of the five-year... →

Global emissions growing instead of diminishing – survey

By: Darren Parker 16th November 2023 The world needs to reduce its emissions by 70% a year until 2030 in order to reach the goal of keeping the global temperature increase to 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels, but global emissions have instead grown by 1.5% over the past year. These revelations were put forward by consulting firm... →

Battery-operated forklifts offer sustainability in warehousing

3rd November 2023 As the world looks towards a more sustainable future, more businesses are being guided by regulations to reduce carbon emissions. For example, in applications such as food storage and handling, businesses are recommended to use battery-powered units instead of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) units,... →

A new battery powered Toypta forklift being driven by a woman in PPE

SUSTAINABLE LIFTING Using-battery powered forklifts instead of liquified petroleum gas units helps decrease a warehouse's emissions

SA shark-barrier tech scores first commercial installation

By: Irma Venter 31st October 2023 The eco-friendly SharkSafe Barrier technology, developed by marine biologists at Stellenbosch University (SU) and their collaborators, and manufactured in the Western Cape, has been installed at a private island in the Bahamas in its first commercial installation. The SharkSafe Barrier combines... →

SharkSafe Barrier

SA urged to adopt innovation as it confronts big waste management problem

By: Simone Liedtke 20th October 2023 At the heart of South Africa’s environmental discussion is the pressing need to embrace a circular economy, but such a shift demands practical collaboration, inventive thinking and a resolute commitment to sustainable practices. During a Creamer Media-hosted webinar on waste management and the... →

FNB launches consumer carbon calculator, offset service on app

By: Schalk Burger 18th October 2023 Financial services firm FNB has launched nav» Earth on its application (app), which uses spending habits to estimate users' carbon emissions and allows them to offset unavoidable emissions. The tool uses FNB’s data and analytics expertise, according to international best-practice carbon factor... →

FNB Private Segment CEO Sizwe Nxedlana

Hyperspectral radiometric buoy to collect microalgae biodiversity data in Theewaterskloof dam

By: Schalk Burger 17th October 2023 Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) researchers have deployed a buoy equipped with a series of instruments in Theewaterskloof dam, in the Western Cape, to gain deeper insights into microalgae biodiversity and its significance in supporting the ecosystem health of South Africa’s... →

The buoy deployed by the CSIR researchers

Recycling economy initiatives create value

By: Bridget Lepere 6th October 2023 Although South Africa is leading the African continent in terms of waste management and recycling, the unauthorised disposal of waste and littering is still rampant, says Zero Waste operations director Hein Fourie, adding that this has led to lower-income groups becoming waste pickers to sort... →

Tackling S Africa’s plastic waste crisis through art

6th October 2023 Researchers from the University of Portsmouth’s Revolution Plastics team and the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs partnered with UK-based charity WasteAid to pioneer the Masibambisane pilot study to divert 7 t of plastic waste, changing behaviours... →

Speakers deliberate waste management challenges amid moves to a circular economy

By: Simone Liedtke 5th October 2023 The concept of the circular economy has gained significant traction as a sustainable alternative to traditional linear economic models in recent years and is characterised by the principles of waste elimination, product circulation and environmental regeneration. As a result, the circular economy... →

The webinar was facilitated by Chris Whyte and the panelists include Yolandi Kruger; Bonte Edwards, Keith Anderson; and Suzan Oelofse.

Waste Management and the Circular Economy

Eskom pollutes more in bid to keep lights on

By: Reuters 27th September 2023 Four of South African State utility Eskom's 15 coal-fired power plants are breaching government emissions regulations as it pushes ageing facilities to their limits, a Reuters analysis of company data found and Eskom officials confirmed. Africa's most developed economy is facing its worst power... →

Photo by Creamer Media
The Kriel power station

SDG achievement will require more data to guide investments – Unctad

By: Darren Parker 19th September 2023 The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) has published data revealing that decision makers urgently need detailed cost estimates to guide their investment and spending choices. With the world off track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Unctad assessed... →

Kruger Park opposes new border link to Mozambique

By: Bloomberg 14th September 2023 South Africa’s biggest wildlife reserve and some local businesses are opposing plans for a new privately operated trucks-only border crossing aimed at speeding up mineral exports to ports in neighboring Mozambique. The Logistics Co., indirectly owned by Old Mutual’s African Infrastructure... →

New ETF focuses on 'blue economy' of marine, freshwater resources

By: Reuters 13th September 2023 Rockefeller Asset Management and KraneShares on Tuesday announced the launch of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focusing on the so-called "blue economy," which seeks to develop marine and freshwater resources and manage them in a sustainable way. The KraneShares Rockefeller Ocean Engagement ETF... →

New challenge brewing for Karpowership's Saldanha Bay plant

By: News24Wire 8th September 2023 Two eco-justice groups plan to challenge Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy's decision to allow Karpowership SA to submit a key document for the environmental approval of its proposed Saldanha Bay plant. In July, Creecy had overturned a decision by her department's chief... →

Firm pushing for investment in energy projects

By: Halima Frost 8th September 2023 Having realised the potential of particularly solar energy in the renewable-energy sector, independent investment and advisory firm Bravura aims to implement additional in-house capabilities to further develop and promote energy projects. “The decision has been made in the wake of a number of... →

An aerial view of the Westgate Shopping centre with teh rood almost completely covered in a solar photovoltaic panel array

GATE TO ENERGY The Westgate shopping centre is one of many projects being implemented by SolarSaver with the investment assistance of Bravura

First skid delivered to Free State client

By: Halima Frost 8th September 2023 Prefabricated deployment solutions developer Turnkey Modular rolled out the first of multiple solar alternating current (ac), low-voltage/medium-voltage, step-up skid or ‘E-Houses’ in July for chemicals and energy company Sasol Chemicals Midlands, in Sasolburg, in the Free State. The skid will be... →

A solar alternating current (ac), low-voltage/medium-voltage, step-up skid or ‘E-House' on show at Turnkey modular's manufacturing site in Germiston

POWER HOUSE The solar alternating current, low-voltage/medium-voltage, step-up skid or ‘E-House' has been delivered to Sasol Midlands

Farmers urged to prepare for El Niño to trigger record-high temperatures

By: Darren Parker 1st September 2023 South Africans have experienced an unusually warm and wet winter, but climate experts are warning that this summer will be one of the hottest and driest on record, which could have a significant impact, particularly on the agriculture sector. The US National Centers for Environmental Prediction,... →

DFFE says no closed-door climate meetings held, will respond to PAIA request

By: Schalk Burger 31st August 2023 The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) says it has not conducted any secret meetings with business on the review of the country’s climate change commitments. It has confirmed having received a request for access to information in terms of the Promotion of Access to... →

Emissions requirement postponed for Kusile

25th August 2023 The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) announced in June that the National Air Quality Officer (NAQO) has granted State-owned power utility Eskom a postponement to meet Minimum Emission Standards (MES) at its Kusile power station. The postponement will be in effect from... →

A view of a Kusile stack through a maze of metal scaffolding

KEEPING KUSILE The emissions standards requirement which needs to be met by Kusile has been postponed untill March 2025 by The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

Judgment in favour of power utility welcomed

25th August 2023 State-owned power utility Eskom in July said it was pleased with the Johannesburg High Court judgment dismissing with costs, the interdict application by green energy supplier G7 Renewable Energies to prevent Eskom from implementing the Interim Grid Capacity Allocation (IGCA) rules. In passing... →

Microgrid roll-out gaining traction

By: Halima Frost 25th August 2023 After the successful commissioning of State-owned power utility Eskom’s third microgrid, at the Swartkop dam, in the Northern Cape, the company aims to launch its next two microgrids at Nomalengena Village, in the Eastern Cape, and Nounieput, also in the Northern Cape, by December 31, 2023. The... →

A solar and battery powered microgrid developed and built by Eskom at the Swartkop dam in the Northern Cape

SEEING THE LIGHT Eskom has rolled out its third solar microgrid as part of a greater plan to provide universal access to electricity using clean and reliable technologies to remote areas

Scania plants one tree for every customer who partners with it

By: Cameron Mackay 22nd August 2023 Transport company Scania Southern Africa is planning to plant a forest as part of its sustainability efforts. It has committed to plant one tree for every customer who partners with Scania to drive the shift to a sustainable transport solution. →

Many communities in South Africa lack green spaces. Research links trees to a reduction in crime, better school performance and improved health benefits

IAEA assures that it will monitor, on site, the discharge of treated water from Fukushima

By: Rebecca Campbell 22nd August 2023 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi on Tuesday gave the assurance that the agency would provide a continuing, objective, independent and impartial safety review during the discharging of treated water, currently stored at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear... →

Photo by IAEA
IAEA director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi

TIPS sets out to create a South Africa-focused Just Transition Transaction Framework

By: Darren Parker 21st August 2023 Independent, nonprofit economic research institution Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) has launched research on a proposed Just Transition Transaction Framework. During a webinar on August 17, the institution introduced the content of the framework and the process for improving the... →

Renewable energy and fossil fuel power infrastructure

Company releases new products for cleaner air

By: Sabrina Jardim 8th August 2023 Having spent 30 years researching and developing original products to reduce particulate matter (PM) from global industrial sources, air filtration solutions provider Aircure is launching three “revolutionary” products in July – the Cycloduct, the Cyclogrit and a shipping container baghouse – the... →

Aircure owner Darren Bibby discusses the release of three new products designed to drastically reduce particulate-matter emissions and dust control.

Disruptive trends affecting industry

By: Nadine Ramdass 28th July 2023 Nonprofit, for-purpose project management organisation Project Management Institute’s (PMI’s) ‘Global Megatrends Report’ shows that the trends affecting project management the most are digital disruption, climate crisis and labour shortages. Project managers are tasked with the challenge of... →

An image of PMI Africa partner success specialist and regional youth lead Joanna Baidu

JOANNA BAIDU Cloud computing and AI have enhanced customer experience, boosted employee efficiency and improved project management outcomes

Project managers must consider ESG factors to ensure success

By: Nadine Ramdass 28th July 2023 Considering environment, social and governance (ESG) factors is imperative and sets the scene for a successful project. Project managers, therefore, should be aware of the specific ESG factors that will impact a project’s development, particularly in the implementation phase of a project, says... →

An image of University of Pretoria project management associate Professor Giel Bekker

GIEL BEKKER Modern capital expenditure projects go beyond securing the materials required to construct a project

IFC partners with Banking Association South Africa to boost climate finance

By: Cameron Mackay 26th July 2023 Development finance institution the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is joining forces with local body the Banking Association South Africa (BASA) to help increase climate finance in the country and pave the way for a transition to a low-carbon economy. BASA is a member of the Sustainable... →

NCOP chair appeals for stronger interventions across Africa to tackle climate change

By: Lumkile Nkomfe 21st July 2023 National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo has urged for stronger and more sustainable interventions across all spheres of government and society to halt and reverse the harmful effects of climate change. Over 60 legislatures, inclusive of sub-national structures, are attending the... →

Light manufacturer expands range

21st July 2023 Global lighting solutions manufacturer ams OSRAM bolstered its horticultural lighting offerings in June, announcing the addition of two new products. The company continues to provide important innovation based on customer input by creating light-emitting diode (LED) solutions that produce high... →

Solar installation lights way for shoppers

By: Halima Frost 21st July 2023 South African lighting solutions manufacturer BEKA Schréder completed the supply of a solar streetlight installation for a shopping centre in Alberton, Gauteng. A total of 24 BEKA Schréder SOLARPOLEs were supplied to the Blue Crane Ridge Shopping Centre, in Meyersdal. →

An aerial shot of the Blue Crane shopping centre at night well lit by all of the BEKA Schréder SOLARPOLE Lighting systems whch have been installed in the parking area

DE-LIGHTING SHOPPERS The new lighting solution installed by BEKA Schréder at the Blue Crane shopping centre offers increased visibility and safety

Firm rolls out sustainability project

21st July 2023 Second-hand vehicle buying and selling company WeBuyCars has successfully executed various sustainability solutions across its showrooms nationally, including the adoption of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. The project aims to promote eco-friendly practices and ensure a more sustainable and... →

a photo of hundreds of cars inside the Northgate Dome which is now the showroom for WeBuyCars in the north of Johannesburg

LED-ING THE WAY The installation of light-emitting diode lighting at all of its locations is part of WeBuyCars plan to reduced the company's ecological footprint

More than R1bn damage to Western Cape farms after West Coast, Winelands flooding

By: News24Wire 14th July 2023 The Western Cape agriculture sector suffered more than R1-billion in infrastructure damage during recent flooding, and now the provincial agriculture department wants to have the area declared a disaster to free up funding for repairs. According to the department, an updated assessment puts the... →

Mining giant looks to tiny microbes to cut stubborn steel emissions

By: Bloomberg 7th July 2023 The world’s biggest miner is trying to figure out if tiny rock-eating microbes can help it solve a notoriously difficult climate puzzle — how to cut emissions from steelmaking. Most steel today is made in blast furnaces powered by coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, but there’s a way to refine the... →

New pump bearing decreases maintenance at treatment plants

7th July 2023 A local wastewater plant operator recently approached polymer bushing and bearing manufacturer Vesconite Bearings in search of a solution to a reoccurring bearing failure on its aeration pumps at a number of the plants it maintains in South Africa. The plant operator was being called in every... →

a pump with vesconite polymer bearings instead of standard material bearings

BEARING THE BRUNT The bearings being used in aeration pumps at a number of wastewater plants kept failing until Vesconite Bearings developed an alternative, more robust bearing

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