The world has barely recovered from the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now scientists are warning that the next pandemic will be offset by climate change. And policymakers must take decisive action to protect the most vulnerable communities. Over…
It is almost eight o’clock on a warm but chilly November Friday morning, Joyce Mathe from Thembisa in Ekurhuleni east of Johannesburg is hard at work collecting waste outside of people’s yards for her recycling business. The cool weather is…
Wishing and praying for rainfall, that is how Oscious Maluga spends most of his days. Maluga is a smallholder farmer from Mabila, a water stricken village outside Sibasa in Limpopo. The 30-year-old grows various crops on his five hectare farm…
by Tony Carnie, Daily MaverickThe Saiccor pulp factory at Umkomaas has been mashing up and dissolving gum trees in chemical cookers for nearly 70 years to produce tree-based fibres for clothes and curtains. But since operations began in 1955, the…
Civil society organisations are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of political will from South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to address the country’s climate change crisis. According to the Climate Justice Coalition, potential solutions to…
Eskom’s Kusile Power Station has been granted an exemption from complying fully with national air quality regulations and has been allowed to emit more sulphur dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere despite its health impacts, Barbara Creecy, the minister of…
South Africa is feeling the impact of climate change. The recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal, consistent droughts in the Western Cape, water scarcity, and heat waves all over the country are examples of some of the consequences. And as a result, it…
On the eve of the pivotal climate talks at COP27, the World Health Organisation issued a grim reminder the health impacts of the climate crisis must be at the core of these critical negotiations. The climate crisis increasingly makes people…
Climate change continues to have a major negative physical, socio-economic and ecological impact on South Africa. Experts say that the nation is yet to experience these effects under all climate change scenarios. Understanding what climate change means and how it…
This past weekend the South African Weather Service issued a level 10 weather warning for disruptive rainfall in Kwa-Zulu Natal. This came less than two months after the province faced major floods that destroyed homes and claimed over 440 lives.…
Have you noticed that every time you do your monthly shop it seems like your trolley becomes more expensive? With rising prices, all around, South Africans are feeling the pinch. But did you know that climate change is also part…
The Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA) is fighting to include health in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Climate Commission (PCC). According to the PCC, its mission is to oversee and facilitate a just and equitable transition towards a low-emissions…
Climate change could pose huge obstacles in the fight against malaria given heavy rains and high temperatures – perfect conditions for the deadly disease to flourish. An article in the United Nations’ UN Chronicle, titled ‘Climate Change on Malaria –…
Environmental Minister Barbara Creecy welcomed the news that South Africa had secured funding to phase out its coal power. But, warned the transition would have to tackle poverty, unemployment and inequality, issues Zamdela residents know all too well. The country…
