You Cannot Have Jobs on a Dead Planet Multimedia During September, South Africa’s youth infotainment show, Politically Aweh, in partnership with Action 24 – Active Citizens for Responsive Legislatures, launched a video series on the climate crisis in Mzansi. With the recent femicides that shook the nation to xenophobic attacks and an unemployment rate of 29%, it’s understandably challenging for young South Africans to even think about climate change. However, as Goldman Environmental prize winner, activist and HBF partner Makoma Lekalakala points out in the video “You cannot have jobs on a dead planet.”
Water is More Precious Than Gas Multimedia On Friday 20th September, thousands of South Africans joined the global climate strike to register their objections to the continuing destruction of the planet. Among them was HBF partner the Support Centre for Land Change (SCLC) who are fighting against fracking threats.
The Shops Are Burning, The Women Are Burning, The Climate is Burning: Connecting The Dots Analysis Just a few months ago, two cyclones (Kenneth and Idai) destroyed the homes and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in parts of southern Africa. The cyclones, along with widespread drought, forced desperate people to migrate. But links between migrancy and xenophobia, violence against women and the growing climate crisis across southern Africa and well beyond have been largely neglected.
This is Not Resilience, it is Foolishness Multimedia On Friday 20th September, thousands of South Africans joined the global climate strike to register their objections to the continuing destruction of the planet. Among them was HBF partner the Philippi Horticultural Area Food and Farming Campaign (PHAFFC) who are fighting to reverse a series of land use decisions that will render Cape Town anything but food, climate and water resilient.
Gauteng High Court Approves Settlement Agreement in Silicosis Class Action Partner News The South Gauteng High Court has approved the historic ZAR5 billion silicosis class action settlement for thousands of former mineworkers who contracted pulmonary tuberculosis or silicosis on South Africa’s gold mines.
The Sorry Tale of a Coal Mine in Paradise - and the Japanese Hands Behind It Partner Analysis The people of the Bushveld around Waterberg used to live peaceful lives in a beautiful area — until Medupi destroyed its ecological and social fabric. The government — with a Japanese firm — plans to build another coal-fired power station in the area, but the community is fighting back. By Elana Greyling, Earthlife Africa Associate
Environmental Justice in South Durban: Community Caught Between Toxic Polluters and Climate Shocks Analysis For decades, South Durban's communities have shared their neighbourhood with two of the country’s biggest oil refineries. As some of the estimated 20,000 South Africans killed by air pollution every year, they now must also contend with flooding and storms. By Shanice Farmin, South Durban Communities Environmental Alliance (SDCEA)
Climate Change Linked Drought Drives Karoo to Collapse Analysis Southern Africa is heating at 2°C per century, twice the global average. In the Northern Cape, as elsewhere, Climate change is no longer a future event, but a daily reality. Since 2015, a climate change induced drought has wrought devastating economic, social and political consequences: agriculture is collapsing, and both emerging and commercial farmers are abandoning their farms. By Delime Cupido and Tristen Taylor
Building the Case for Informed Investment Decisions Towards a Sustainable South Africa Call The Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) Cape Town Office, in cooperation with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), would like to offer South African civil society organisations the opportunity to work with the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) tool.
Durban floods: An open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa Partner Analysis The massive floods that hit KZN, and Durban in particular, in April 2019 are yet another indicator of how climate change is affecting our resilience. While President Cyril Ramaphosa recently acknowledged this, there has been a strange silence since, and big, carbon-intensive programmes are steaming ahead in the port city. Surely the time for talking is over?
