Ecological Justice

In South Africa, a severe water crisis, fuelled by climate change, laid bare the hyperbole of “a well-run, global best practices, World Design Capital bla bla” Cape Town. Instead of relying on window dressing, Cape Town should learn from cities that are serious about climate change mitigation and adaptation. Nazeer Sonday argues that we have the farmers, and a population concerned about its food. What we lack is political leadership.

On the 7th of February 2019, the French energy company Total announced a ‘significant gas condensate discovery’ some 175 kilometres off the southern coast of South Africa. The find was described by Total, as ‘a new world-class gas and oil play’.On the very same day South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, stated during his annual State of the Nation Address, that the find ‘could well be a game-changer for our country and will have significant consequences for our country’s energy security and the development of this industry’. This brief report critically evaluates these claims and assesses its likely environmental effects.

Eskom hike wipes out R80 increase on pensioners’ old-age grants.

High poverty, unemployment, inequality could be addressed by small-scale farming – campaign.

For 200 years we've been building a gigantic worldwide machine for permanent economic growth.

In the wake of the 2015 Paris Agreement adopting “well below 2°C” as the international goal to limit global warming, geoengineering is increasingly being promoted as a technological means to counteract climate change or its effects. This article unpacks the state of play of these technologies in South Africa.

Yesterday, May 3rd 2018, a historic settlement was reached between South African mineworkers who contracted silicosis or tuberculosis while working underground and seven gold mining companies, the first class action settlement of its kind in the country.

The water crisis has thrust the Cape Town population into a major panic. For some, this is the first we find ourselves under such circumstances. However, Cape Town has faced severe water shortages before. This is the second major water crisis to hit the city in a 100 years.