Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
Ozayr Patel

Creator

Ozayr Patel

For a continent that boasts abundant renewable energy sources like hydropower, solar and wind, this cannot continue. Key challenges are infrastructure-related and poor investment. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Mission 300 hopes to redefine Africa’s energy landscape and climate resilience

Thirty leaders from the continent met in Ethiopia to discuss a project to give 300 million people access to electricity

COP29 took a step forward to elevate the voices of indigenous peoples and local communities in climate action, adopting the Baku Workplan and renewing the mandate of the Facilitative Working Group (FWG) of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform.  (Photo by Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

COP29’s ‘shocking’ R1.3 trillion for developing counties lambasted

This conference has shown how developed countries want to shirk their climate finance responsibilities to vulnerable countries, say leaders of least developed nations

Developing countries that are the most vulnerable to climate change are angry about a new text released at COP29 on Friday, which says developed countries must pay $250 billion a year until 2035 for climate action

$250bn a year for climate action is too little, say developing countries

The final draft text for COP29 shows there has been limited progress made on funding, a failure given that this was meant to be the ‘finance COP’

A new draft for the long-term finance proposal for climate change, called the new collective quantified goal (NCQG), was released on Thursday morning at COP29. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

New draft for climate finance released at COP29, but lacks specifics

Least developed countries and small island nations will be prioritised but the finance proposal omits to say how much money will be provided

Dion George is tackling resistance to mitigation and climate finance with just days left at the conference

Environment minister pushing for climate action breakthrough at COP29

Dion George is tackling resistance to mitigation and climate finance with just days left at the conference

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – NOVEMBER 11: Protesters, in an apparent reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza, demonstrate on the opening day of the UNFCCC COP29 Climate Conference on November 11, 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.  (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

SA accused of double standards for selling coal to Israel while condemning ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Pro-Palestine groups at the COP29 conference are arguing that there is a clear link between climate rights and human rights

Fadhel Kaboub, a senior adviser at think tank Power Shift Africa.

Unified African voice needed at COP29

The continent must also ignore the dangled carrot of small bits of money for carbon forests or just transitions, said Fadhel Kaboub, a senior adviser at Power Shift Africa

Sport and climate change speakers at COP29.

Sporting world needs to play its part in mitigating climate change, COP29 hears

Athletes have not been spared the impact of climate change, with high temperatures, pollution, weather events and dirty water affecting performance

(UN Climate Change / Kiara Worth)

The second week of COP29 needs to reach funding commitments

There is an air of impatience as talks on finance hit a stalemate

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit on day two of the UNFCCC COP29 Climate Conference at Baku Stadium on November 12, 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

António Guterres: COP29 must tear down the walls to climate finance

The final countdown to lowering carbon emissions has started, the UN chief said, highlighting three steps that urgently need to be taken

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell speaks during the opening ceremony of the UNFCCC COP29 Climate Conference on November 11, 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The COP29, which is running from November 11 through 22, is bringing together stakeholders, including international heads of state and other leaders, scientists, environmentalists, indigenous peoples representatives, activists and others to discuss and agree on the implementation of global measures towards mitigating the effects of climate change. According to the United Nations, countries made no progress over the last year in reducing global emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Climate finance set to be this year’s biggest COP talking point

Countries need to urgently agree on funding goals to adapt to, and mitigate climate change

Truth ‘suppressed’: At least 128 journalists have been killed in the Israel Defense Forces’ attacks on Gaza that began in October last year, making the Israeli Occupied Territory a lethal place to be a reporter. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee/Getty Images

Journalism is bleeding. The wound must be staunched

South Africa’s media houses face financial constraints, and elsewhere journalists are killed

MMA champion Dricus du Plessis and world cup winning South African rugby captain, Siya Kolisi. (Instagram/dricusduplessis)

Golden era: SA’s sport stars are teaching us about excellence

The country’s athletes are shining in a variety of disciplines — and long may it last

A Rand Water team  carries out planned maintenance at the Bergbron water utility in Johannesburg. (Supplied)

Urban water crisis deepens as poor infrastructure, shortages and unpaid bills take a toll

Maintaining infrastructure, fixing leaks and better information sharing are the first crucial steps to fixing the mess

When e-waste is burned, dumped in the environment or recycled incorrectly, chemicals, including lead, are released.

OPINION: We need to do more than talk about electronic waste

Safely recycling e-waste will reduce the harm on the environment and on people’s health

Plastic is useful; it can be moulded into different forms for a variety of uses. It is also fairly cheap to make. But its harms are ubiquitous. (Sustainable Seas Trust)

Global plastic pollution treaty talks to take shape in South Korea

Plastic is a useful product but it causes immense environmental problems

Yellow Oleander, Thevetia peruviana. Single open flower and buds growing in Phrao, Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Photo by FlowerPhotos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Invasive alien plant species in eThekwini parks need to be removed

KwaZulu-Natal’s urban spaces are filled with invasive alien species that need to be removed, according to a study by a master’s student employed by the Natural Science Collection…

SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, ARGENTINA – SEPTEMBER 21: Manie Libbok of South Africa reacts during the the Rugby Championship 2024 match between Argentina Pumas and South Africa Springboks at Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades on September 21, 2024 in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. (Photo by Rodrigo Valle/Getty Images)

Lay off Libbok. Instead, do what Rassie did and get behind the player

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus didn’t let social media get in his way in selecting Manie Libbok as he produced an eye-catching display against Argentina

The cooling market in developing economies is expected to grow from around $300 billion to at least $600 billion per year, by 2050 (AFP via Getty Images)

Africa faces urgent need for sustainable cooling as temperatures soar

Around 3.5 billion people live in hot climates, but only 15% have access to cooling, mainly through air conditioning

Kumi Naidoo, a leading voice for climate justice advocating for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty and fair finance, has been calling for governments to act on the ‘moral failure’ of continued fossil fuel expansion (Photo supplied)

Kumi Naidoo appointed president of global initiative to phase out fossil fuels

Naidoo’s leadership in the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is seen as a critical step in the fight for a fair, sustainable future