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crispian olverlatest news & developments
President Cyril Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa signs crucial Climate Change Bill into law

The Climate Change Act is the country’s first comprehensive piece of legislation to encourage the development of an effective climate change response

South Africa needs to change its top-down approach, consult communities and fast track the delayed Integrated Energy Plan

Presidential Climate Commission: Green energy to provide employment relief

Crispian Olver, the climate commission’s head, has said that fossil fuel jobs will shrink but citizens will benefit from the green market This content is restricted to registered…

Blueprint for the just energy transition: Banks of solar panels are being erected around Komati’s old chimney stacks. Photo: Thabo Molelekwa

Renewable energy training ramps up at Komati power station

An update on the training and community support programmes taking shape at Eskom’s pilot renewable energy plant

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.(Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

SA’s R210 billion grid dilemma hits pause on load-shedding fix

Renewable energy could close the gap between demand and supply, ending load-shedding. But out-of-pocket Eskom must find money to upgrade its transmission infrastructure first

The Presidential Climate Commission has objected to extending coal-fired power stations beyond their natural lifespan. (Waldo Swiegers/Getty Images)

Extending coal plants lifespan will not solve anything, says Crispian Olver

Climate commission presents its recommendations to Ramaphosa, highlighting that it is vital to decommission crumbling plants as soon as the power crunch eases

(John McCann/M&G)

Ramaphosa’s panel calls for end to coal, but who’ll fund it?

Like unfinished flyovers in Cape Town, global climate finance and domestic demand often don’t meet up

Failing to invest in a decarbonised economy could cost South Africa trillions, but calls to mobilise capital come amid fiscal strain. (Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Critical climate plans hang on future international finance

Failing to invest in a greener economy could cost South Africa trillions, but calls to mobilise capital come amid fiscal strain

Small industrial enclaves in the Eastern Cape, such as the Mercedes-Benz plant in East London, have taken the place of meaningful rural development, argues a new book by anthropologist Leslie Bank. (Ingo Wagner/Picture Alliance/Getty Images)

Early state capture stalled motor city

And universities in the Eastern Cape have not taken up the challenge of creating knowledge centres to produce solutions

Carbon allowances exist when a government sets a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that can be emitted by an industry. Photo: Supplied

Climate Change: Carbon market needs efficient global rules

The effects of climate change are accelerating and the collapse of mitigation trade has implications for emissions reduction.

Cloud over carbon trading

Cloud over carbon trading

Is the clean development mechanism working? Crispian Olver gives a view of a debate that is relevant in developed and developing countries