South Africa’s State power utility, stung by reports about the health impacts of emissions from burning coal, said it’s spending billions of dollars to reduce them and has an ambitious target to reduce output of one of its most dangerous pollutants. Eskom Holdings said it’s committed to a R67-billion plan to cut emissions and by [...]

Various factors can lead to a rapid decline in South Africa’s water availability, according to Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo, who reiterated the need to diversify the water resource mix to ensure water security. Economic growth, population growth, urbanisation, inefficient water use, degradation of wetlands and the impact of climate change, as well [...]

Over the past five years, geopolitics has cast a shadow over how the world trade system functions, leading to a state of inertia within the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and its dispute resolution mechanisms. However, while geopolitical tensions have led to many questioning the WTO system, many countries still see value in a rules-based global [...]

Global green building certification bodies the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in the UK, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) have formed a global green building alliance to create global cohesion in green building standards. This is aimed at bridging the gap between green building and the environmental, [...]

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has unpacked the Industry Waste Tyre Management Plan (IWTMP), which was recently approved by Cabinet and which is aimed at addressing several challenges faced by the waste tyre sector. Some of the sector’s most prominent challenges include limited local processing capacity, storage depot limitations and logistical constraints.

Leading African independent power producer Globeleq says the 153 MW/612 MWh Red Sands project, which was recently awarded preferred bidder status under South Africa’s inaugural battery storage public procurement round, will be the largest standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) in Africa and will carry an investment value of R5.7-billion. It is smaller than the [...]

Mining and energy company Seriti Resources’ subsidiary Seriti Green has signed a long-term project financing agreement with Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) as co-mandated lead arranger to enable the delivery of a 155 MW wind farm, in Mpumalanga. The project has a total cost of R4-billion and represents the first phase of a portfolio that will [...]

Given South Africa’s ongoing energy crisis, there remains much debate around whether gas should be included in the future energy mix and, if so, how much. Advocates argue that the fossil fuel is a necessity and a step up from coal – since it produces fewer carbon emissions when burned – but many still oppose [...]

Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi on April 4 announced that the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) would launching a new Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Labour Activation Programme (LAP) to provide training for employment and entrepreneurship programmes. He informed that R23.8-billion would be allocated to implement this plan. Opportunities will run for between 12 [...]

The Coega Development Corporation (Coega) says it has successfully implemented infrastructure projects to an accumulative value of about R48-billion since the inception of its development programme for infrastructure outside of its special economic zone (SEZ) in 2004. During the 2023/24 financial year, Coega supported the Eastern Cape Department of Education (DoE) and Department of Health (DoH) [...]

Delays to the planned closures of coal-fired power plants proposed by South Africa’s energy department could result in thousands of deaths from air pollution and lead to billions of dollars of health-related costs, an air-quality research agency said. The projection about the health impacts of the delays, which the energy department says are necessary to [...]

The inaugural board of the South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) has been announced by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, who also confirmed Godfrey Moagi as the State-owned company’s interim CEO. The board will be chaired by former PetroSA CEO Sipho Mkhize and is expected to manage the winding down of the three [...]