Pollution
Pollution
Agreement to Limit Carbon Emissions
The United States and China have agreed to limit carbon emissions, but the move might only be enough to save developed countries in the North.
Under an agreement, the United States will reduce its emissions by a quarter by 2025 and China will reach a maximum in its emissions by 2030, cap them, and then decrease them.
At the signing ceremony, President Barack Obama said: “As the world’s largest economies and greatest emitters of greenhouse gases, we have a special responsibility to lead the global effort against climate change.”
To read the article titled, “Agreement to reduce greenhouse gases will not save Africa,” click here.Source:Mail and GuardianActivists Call Action on Climate Change
Activists concerned about climate change have delivered a petition on ‘climate justice demands’ to government officials at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
The gathering, which comes ahead of the upcoming United Nations climate summit to be held in New York next week, saw climate and energy campaigners of groups such as local climate movement 350Africa, Greenpeace and Right2Know Campaign dancing and waving placards containing the slogans ‘We Fight Climate Change’, ‘No More Coal’, and "Clean Energy Now’.
Ferrial Adam of climate movement 350Africa says people are tired of ‘talk shops’ and want to see real action.
To read the article titled, “Climate change is happening to us now: Pretoria activists,” click here.Source:Times LiveFracking Debate Set to Take New Tone
The Treasure Karoo Action Group (TKAG) would keep an open mind on claims that shale gas may prove a ‘game changer’ for the local economy.
In a press statement, TKAG chief executive director, Jonathan Deal, says if the claims are correct, they could be validated by scientific investigation, and a thorough cost-benefit analysis in which science could inform policy.
Deal states that the TKAG opposes licensing shale gas exploration, a process that involves hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking.
To read the article titled, “Debate on fracking set to take on new tone,” click here.Source:Fin 24TKAG, EFF, Will Not Partner Against Fracking
The Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) will not be partnering with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to advance any social cause any time in the near future.
However, TKAG leader, Jonathan Deal, says the organisation respects the stubborn determination with which the EFF holds his views, as the battle to stop fracking in the Karoo continues.
In its response to Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa’s budget vote speech, the EFF criticised fracking for the first time, joining all major parties in Parliament except the African National Congress in a chorus of criticism of shale-gas exploration.
To read the article titled, “Karoo group treasures forthright Malema,” click here.Source:BDLiveCourt Urged to Halt ‘Illegal’ Smelter
The environmental activist grouping, Earthlife Africa, had asked the Gauteng High Court to halt smelting operations at the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA) Pelindaba plant on the grounds that they were illegal.
The organisation, which wants the smelter to shut down, argues that the possibility exists that it could be turned to commercial use which would result in South Africa becoming ‘a nuclear waste junkyard’.
Earthlife Africa has been in a decade-long dispute over the smelter which was constructed to decontaminate radio-active metal by smelting and mixing it with scrap metal.
To read the article titled, “Earthlife Africa tells court Pelindaba smelter ‘illegal’,” click here.Source:BDLiveFracking Gas Emissions are Half That of Coal
A new study finds that the life-time greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of shale gas are half that of coal, irrespective of whether the gas is used as natural gas or to generate electricity.
Shale gas has been touted as a way to curb climate change and reduce the world’s reliance on coal, but many questions remain, such as whether it is in fact cleaner than coal and whether it contaminates ground water reservoirs, among others.
Minister of Energy, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, expresses to parliament that “The development of shale gas [in South Africa] cannot be dismissed or ignored ... We should be learning from others on how to best exploit this resource in the least intrusive and environmentally prudent way.”
To read the article titled, “Emissions from fracking gas half that of coal, says study,” click here.Source:Mail and GuardianFracking May Destroy SA Water
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says South Africa’s intention to go ahead with shale gas exploration and more coal mining could have a devastating effect on South Africa's water supply.
In a press statement, WWF fresh water programme senior manager, Christine Colvin, states that critical water production areas and water systems are being threatened by coal mining.
Colvin adds: "The explosion of shale gas exploration in the Karoo will similarly disrupt the social fabric of this fragile area and we do not have clarity on how negative impacts will be dealt with."
To read the article titled, “WWF: Fracking may destroy SA water,” click here.Source:News 24IPCC Urges ‘Faster Action’ on Global Warming
The United Nations (UN) says faster action is needed to keep global warming to agreed limits and delays until 2030 could force reliance on technologies to extract greenhouse gases from the air.
In its latest report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which drew on the work of more than 1 000 experts, says a shift from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy such as wind, solar or nuclear power was affordable and will shave only about 0.06 percent point a year off world economic growth.
"We have a window of opportunity for the next decade, and maximum the next two decades" to act at moderate costs, says Ottmar Edenhofer, co-chair of a Berlin meeting of the IPCC.
To read the article titled, “Act fast to curb global warming: UN,” click here.Source:SABC NewsIPCC Warns Against Climate Change
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that climate change is already affecting lives and will have catastrophic impacts if carbon emissions are not lowered now.
In its new report, the IPCC paints a world where human civilisation will struggle to survive unless carbon emissions are cut urgently, adding that the impacts if nothing happened will be ‘severe, pervasive and irreversible’.
"Nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impacts of climate change," explains Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the IPCC.
To read the article titled, “IPCC report: Climate change will be 'irreversible',” click here.Source:Mail and GuardianAir Pollution Blamed for Deaths
A new report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found that air pollution is responsible for one in eight of all global deaths – double the previous estimate.
The report states that the seven million deaths annually are from a combination of indoor and outdoor air pollution.
In its research, WHO found strong links between indoor and outdoor air pollution and cardiovascular diseases - like strokes and ischaemic heart disease.
To read the article titled, “Air pollution kills millions annually, says WHO,” click here.Source:Mail and Guardian
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