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16 May 2025 Environmental Law & Justice Watch

Environmental Focus


New framework permits users to choose power sources

A new framework unveiled last week marks a major shift in the electricity generation field, allowing energy users to choose their power sources and not be 'held captive' by Eskom. Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa last week said the 'consequential' framework ... Read More

South Africa


Nersa may not regulate gas outside its pipeline

A declaratory order handed down by the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) has confirmed that Renergen’s gas and helium production in the Free State is out of the energy regulator’s reach. Renergen, an emerging liquefied natural gas (LNG) and helium producer ... Read More

Judicial review questions TotalEnergies' drilling right

A judicial review heard in the Western Cape High Court last week has questioned the environmental authorisation process for TotalEnergies’ offshore oil and gas exploration rights between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. A Mail & Guardian Online report notes that ... Read More

Concerns linger over redrafted IRP

Serious questions continue to be raised about both the content of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity currently being discussed at Nedlac as a precursor to its approval by Cabinet, and the drafting and consultation processes that have been ... Read More

Analyses


Early adapters to carbon tax regime will profit

As SA prepares to enter phase two of its carbon tax regime in 2026, the commercial and industrial (C&I) property sector is facing a major regulatory inflection point. ‘With tax-free allowances set to shrink and effective carbon prices rising steeply ... Read More

Auditable brand-linked waste a wake-up call

Recycling plastic is not the silver bullet we have been told it is. ‘In the split second it takes to drop an empty chip packet or a plastic bottle into a bin, we rarely stop to ask the question that ... Read More

Africa


Kenya jails Belgian teenagers for ant smuggling

Two Belgian teenagers who were found with 5 000 ants in Kenya have been fined $7 700 or the option to serve 12 months in prison for violating wildlife conservation laws, reports The Independent. Belgian nationals Lornoy David and Seppe ... Read More

Mining activities threaten Zimbabwe's tourism industry

Conservation is under serious threat from mining activities in protected areas countrywide, putting wild animals at risk of extinction, a Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) official has said. A New Zimbabwe report notes that, giving oral evidence to ... Read More

Prince Harry-linked charity review exposes abuses

A major conservation charity linked to Prince Harry has admitted that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers in Congo-Brazzaville, following an independent review into allegations made by members of the Baka community against African Parks rangers, reports BBC ... Read More

World


Call for binding protocol for healthy environment

UN human rights experts last week called on the Council of Europe to begin the negotiation on initiating a binding protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights recognising the right to a healthy environment. A Jurist report notes that ... Read More

World's wealthy mostly responsible for climate crisis

A new study released this week has quantified what many have long suspected: the world’s wealthiest people are responsible for the majority of global warming since 1990 that causes increases in climate extremes, such as heatwaves and droughts. According to ... Read More

Children to bear the brunt of crisis, study warns

Failure to limit global warming to 1.5°C would condemn 83% of today’s five-year-olds to dangerous levels of extreme heat in their lifetimes, new research published has found. A report in The Independent notes that the study, which has been ... Read More

Enviro Briefs


Inquest after man dies in suspected hippo attack

* The police in the Zambezi region on Sunday opened an inquest case after a man died from a suspected hippo attack in the Lusu area. Regional police spokesperson inspector Kisco Sitali said it was alleged the man left his village ... Read More

Rwanda and Singapore sign carbon credit agreement

* Rwanda and Singapore have embarked on designing high-quality carbon credit projects that deliver real climate and development benefits. This after the two governments signed a carbon credit agreement on 6 May in Singapore, in a bid to start the implementation ... Read More

Three suspects nabbed for abalone possession

* The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment, Dr Dion George, has commanded a joint law enforcement operation, which led to the arrest of three suspects involved in illegal abalone possession in the Eastern Cape. Three male suspects were arrested ... Read More

Side Bars


New reserve to protect Blue Swallows

New reserve for swallowsThe future looks brighter today for two critically endangered flying creatures in SA, thanks to the establishment of a new grassland reserve in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains. A small but vital patch of high-altitude grassland ... Read More

Case Law Briefs


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