With about 150 illegal miners believed to be trapped inside an abandoned mine in Sabie, and hundreds of miners still trapped in a mine in Stilfontein, the complex issue of illegal underground mining, as well as human trafficking, has been ... Read More

In a landmark ruling that saw young environmental activists triumph, the High Court has overturned the government’s plans to add 1 500MW of new coal-fired power to the national grid, saying they are ‘unlawful and invalid’. A Daily Maverick report ... Read More

The Bredasdorp Regional Court in the Western Cape has handed down a landmark ruling against Gqeberha-based fishing company Unathi-Wena Fishing, marking the first conviction for environmental degradation linked to illegal fishing within a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The Daily Maverick ... Read More

Germany has committed further funding of €276.5m (about R5.2bn) to SA for the period to 2026 to support several initiatives, including skills development and SA’s energy transition. An Engineering News report notes that the funding was confirmed in ... Read More

Greenwashing – when companies exaggerate or falsely claim environmental benefits to attract eco-conscious consumers – includes terms like ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘all-natural’ – emphasising a minor green aspect to overshadow negative impacts. It amounts to feigning ‘green’ or ‘eco-friendly’ to gain ... Read More

The UN has persistently warned that climate change is the biggest major threat to humanity. ‘Many leaders and civil society formations have called for urgent decarbonisation and sustainable green economic transition that secures prosperity for all in the face of ... Read More

The Nigerian Supreme Court has upheld the R275 954 000 compensation for Uhuru Owino slum residents affected by environmental pollution, ruling that those responsible for environmental degradation must not only compensate victims but also cover the cost of restoring the ... Read More

European Union (EU) Ambassador to Liberia Nona Deprez last week commended the collaborative efforts of the Liberian Government, the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), and all stakeholders in driving the country's forest sector forward. Speaking during the 12th Joint Implementation ... Read More

Uganda is the 12th most vulnerable country to climate change out of 192 countries ranked according to a report published in Kampala on 30 October by Oxfam, the UK-based global anti-poverty NGO. A report in The Independent notes that the ... Read More

At a landmark legal hearing in The Hague last week, wealthy countries that are big emitters of planet-heating gases used the Paris Agreement and other existing treaties on climate change to avoid additional pressure to step up their action to ... Read More

The New Zealand Supreme Court last week unanimously upheld an appeal by the Attorney-General, revising the legal test under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act (MACA). A Jurist report notes that the decision effectively lowers the barriers for ... Read More

One of the cornerstones of Amazon rainforest protection – the Soy Moratorium – is under unprecedented pressure from Brazilian agribusiness organisations, politicians, and global trading companies, a report in The Guardian notes. Soy is one of the most widely grown ... Read More

* A 42-year-old male appeared in the Paarl Magistrate's Court on Tuesday in connection with a devastating wildfire on Paarl Mountain that took firefighting crews from five municipalities to extinguish. The suspect was arrested by Drakenstein Municipality’s law enforcement division ... Read More

* The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Africa50 have signed a landmark term sheet laying out the key terms on which Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investor and asset manager, will manage and implement the Africa Solar Facility (ASF). The ASF, targeted ... Read More

* An energy storage company Solar MD has officially opened the first gigawatt factory on the continent, capable of producing up to 3GWh of energy storage annually. The 15 000m² factory, located in Cape Town, has been operational since July. However ... Read More

Ocean Campus reaches 70 000 childrenOn weekday mornings, staff from the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation often head to schools in Cape Town’s poorer areas to teach learners about the ocean and what they can do to preserve it. In the ... Read More

Student discovers new asteroidThird-year University of Pretoria business management student Rorisang Mahomo has been credited with a provisional asteroid detection that has been catalogued in the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Minor Planet Centre (MPC) database. She said receiving confirmation that ... Read More

Biodegradable Sim cardsMTN SA has launched biodegradable Sim cards in an effort to tackle plastic waste pollution, with an estimated 180m of these cards bought by consumers across the industry each year. Many of the Sim cards are used only ... Read More