The Living Ghoen

The United Nations (UN) released a report showing that greening city urban infrastructure can sustain economic growth while using fewer natural resources.

In a judgment handed down on Thursday, the Bloemfontein-based Supreme Court of Appeal found in favour of Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa, and against the Retail Motor Industry, in a case brought against the Minister to block the im…

Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa on Wednesday launched a guideline document to provide the mining sector with directives on how to avoid, limit or remedy mining impacts as part of a thorough environmental-impact assessment (EIA) and robust environmental management programme. The ‘Mining and Biodiversity Guideline: Mainstreaming biodiversity into the mining sector’ report, the launch of which coincided with the International Day for Biological Diversity, established a four-step mitigation hierarchy aimed at encouraging proactive planning to prevent the disturbance of ecosystems and biodiversity as a first approach.

Owing to uncertainty surrounding South Africa’s electricity supply, it is important for State-owned power utility Eskom to conform to legislation that governs emission limits, as forced shutdowns of its generating units is not an option for the country.

Forestry and forest products group York Timbers is hoping to break ground early next year on its R1.5-billion site integration project at its Sabie facilities, in Mpumalanga, once it receives a record of decision from the Department of Environmental Affairs on its environmental-impact assessment submission.  

Critical deadlines for the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (NEM: AQA) No. 39 of 2004 have either passed or are looming for activities listed under Section 21 of the Act and operators need to be aware of and meet the remaining deadlin…

A competitive agriculture sector capable of creating jobs, especially among poor rural communities in South Africa, is needed to achieve sustainable economic growth in a developing society, says the Agricultural Research Council (ARC).

A biomass-to-energy plant is being built to convert sugarcane waste to ‘green charcoal’, which will provide additional revenue for small-scale farmers in Nkomazi, Mpumalanga, says consulting engineering firm Aurecon project manager Jean Bouwer. Second-generation biomass-to-energy technologies convert waste or residual biomass into energy products, which include solid and liquid fuels, electricity and gases. Residual biomass, including plantation and process waste, alien vegetation and municipal solid waste, can be used to generate revenue and reduce operational costs, he explains.

Building developer Abland received a four-star Green Star SA certification from the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) for the design of its Alice Lane project, in Sandton. This is the GBCSA’s thirtieth green star certification.

South African industry have until August 2 to comment on the carbon tax proposals tabled by the National Treasury on Thursday. The Treasury aimed to promulgate a phased-in tax rate of R120/t of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), increasing 10% a year during the first phase, in an attempt to curb the country’s greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions.