In a world first, renewable energy accounted for more than 30% of global electricity in 2024, a study noted last week. The renewables sector in SA is growing apace too, notes Legalbrief. At a joint government and business briefing last ... Read More

Shell does not aim to exit SA but is disposing of its ‘non-core’ retail business, which houses its service stations, as it turns its focus on its upstream operations, which are facing serious legal challenges from environmental groups. A Cape ... Read More

TotalEnergies and the government have decided to oppose a bid by environmental groups Natural Justice and The Green Connection to set aside the government’s decision to grant the French multinational energy major the right to drill offshore for gas and ... Read More

SA will provide a new timeline for the shutdown of coal-fired power plants in a bid to secure about $2.5bn in climate finance, an agency in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said. An Engineering News report notes that the timetable ... Read More

SA policy makers must recognise the importance of Aloe Ferox, a neglected indigenous resource. ‘By sidelining this “green gold”, we forfeit millions of rand in potential revenue and deny our farmers and communities the chance to prosper from the land’s ... Read More

The Zimbabwean Government forecasts staple maize production will drop 72% in the 2023/24 season, worsening the country’s food situation due to an El Nino induced drought, a crop assessment report showed last week. A BusinessLIVE report notes that Zimbabwe ... Read More

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) last week launched a $6m programme to support small businesses and financial institutions in northern Kenya that are looking to implement climate-smart practices and enhance their resilience to climate-related challenges. According to a ... Read More

Villagers bordering Etosha National Park say it is just a matter of time before they resort to vigilante tactics to defend themselves against the police. A New Era report notes that, according to villagers at Otjenova, the Namibian Police Force ... Read More

China sought to solicit public opinion towards the draft regulations aiming at regulating its rapidly growing lithium battery industry last week. A Jurist report notes that the rules, proposed by the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology, are designed to ... Read More

Illegal trafficking of plant and animal wildlife remains stubbornly prevalent, according to a UN report yesterday, and it is critical governments focus on more than just ‘iconic’ species where progress has been made. A report in The Herald notes that ... Read More

The world’s big banks have handed nearly $7tn (£5.6tn) in funding to the fossil fuel industry since the Paris agreement to limit carbon emissions, according to research. A report in The Guardian notes that in 2016, after talks in ... Read More

* A Stockholm court fined climate activist Greta Thunberg last week for disobeying police orders after blocking access to Sweden’s Parliament during a protest in March. The court said it fined the activist R10 200 and ordered her to pay R1 ... Read More

New Berg nature reserveIn a significant milestone for local conservation, the Northern Drakensberg Nature Reserve has been officially gazetted. With generous funding from WWF SA, the project to establish the Northern Drakensberg Nature Reserve began in 2018. Ecologically significant, the ... Read More

Sperm whales sophisticated talkA new analysis of years of vocalisation by sperm whales in the eastern Caribbean has found that their system of communication is more sophisticated than previously known, exhibiting a complex internal structure replete with a ‘phonetic alphabet’ ... Read More

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA Anél du Plessis Publisher: Juta This unique work extensively examines South Africa's environmental law and policy from a local government perspective. The second edition presents a rich collection of theoretical scholarship ... Read More