How the US-Israel-Iran conflict is reshaping South Africa’s coal exports
Middle East tension has pushed up energy prices and boosted demand for South African coal, raising questions about climate commitments and exports
Climate Change
Oxford study finds world’s highest heat-risk cities concentrated in Asia and Africa
Heat risk is about more than temperature. A new Oxford study of 205 cities found that poverty, limited infrastructure and lack of access to cooling are key factors driving urban heat vulnerability, with most of the highest-risk cities in South and Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
UN climate chief calls for faster action as Bonn climate talks begin
Opening the UN’s mid-year climate talks in Bonn, Simon Stiell urged governments to focus on implementing climate commitments, warning that fossil fuel dependence was driving economic instability and exposing countries to worsening climate impacts
SA launches first climate and health surveillance platform
The tool allows researchers and policymakers to track links between extreme weather, heatwaves, flooding and health outcomes
Reserve Bank hikes interest rate for first time since 2023 as oil shock, inflation risks mount
South African Reserve Bank raises interest rate to 7%, warning that oil shocks, food inflation and global instability could drive prices higher
Climate models failing to reflect inequality and Global South realities, study warns
Scientists say dominant climate and biodiversity models rely too heavily on existing economic systems and overlook inequality, Global South perspectives and Indigenous knowledge, calling for more transformative and inclusive scenario-building
Why resilience matters most in African agriculture now
African agriculture is entering a period where resilience will be determined heavily by access to capital and the ability to remain operational under unstable conditions that may persist for extended periods
Study: Linking climate change to health doubles support for public action
New research shows that health-based climate messaging significantly increases public support for government action, especially in South Africa where concern over children and food security is high
‘No one asked us’: West Coast fishers oppose offshore oil and gas development
From Doringbaai to Port Nolloth, West Coast communities are pushing back against mining and offshore oil and gas expansion. Residents, activists and fishers say consultation processes fail local people while environmental degradation and economic inequality continue to deepen
Great white sharks and tuna face overheating risk as oceans warm
Great white sharks, tuna and other warm-bodied fish burn nearly four times more energy than cold-blooded species, leaving them increasingly vulnerable as rising ocean temperatures shrink their habitats, a new study has found
Tiny birds, vast journeys: Inside SA’s first shorebird tracking project
BirdLife South Africa launches its first tracking project for migratory shorebirds, revealing complex journeys and new conservation priorities across the Africa–Eurasian flyway
Presidential Climate Commission outlines people-centred just transition for 2026–2030
Commissioners emphasise a people-centred just transition, focusing on rural communities, workers and climate-resilient economic planning
Extreme heat is becoming Southern Africa’s defining climate and health threat, report warns
Extreme heat is no longer a future problem. A major new report warns it is intensifying inequality, illness and climate vulnerability across Southern Africa and the worst-hit are often those least able to escape it
Olifants River faces extreme warming by 2100, threatening fish and macroinvertebrates
New research projects the Olifants River in the Kruger National Park could reach daily water temperatures of 42–44°C by the end of the century under a high-emissions scenario, putting fish, macroinvertebrates and freshwater ecosystems at serious risk
Democracy should feed land hunger
It is shocking that a post-1994 dispensation, emerging from a colonial-apartheid liberation struggle whose core objective was the return of land, has presided over the increase of informal settlements from 300 to 4000
Human-made chemicals embedded across global oceans, major study finds
A groundbreaking analysis of more than 2 300 seawater samples shows that industrial chemicals dominate ocean pollution signals, even far from land
Urban heat hits poorest areas hardest, new street data shows
A new global platform maps urban heat at street level, showing how exposure is rising and falling disproportionately on poorer communities, while giving cities tools to test cooling solutions
Superbugs plus climate change equals double trouble. Here’s why
As the Earth becomes hotter, we’re seeing more floods and droughts. Flooding can make superbugs spread faster and further. And heat helps germs adapt faster
Climate change an existential threat, Ramaphosa says
President calls for urgent action to move South Africa’s just energy transition from commitment to delivery at the inaugural meeting of the reconstituted Presidential Climate Commission
‘King coal is back’, says Mantashe
The minister framed coal, not as a relic of the past, but as a critical driver of energy security, industrial activity and employment
UPDATED: Komati illustrates the human cost of South Africa’s energy transition
What should have been a model for climate action has become a cautionary tale of what happens when communities are excluded from decisions that reshape their lives
Climate change and La Niña drove deadly southern Africa floods, analysis finds
The intensity of heavy downpours has increased by 40% since pre-industrial times, with some areas receiving more than a year’s rain in just days
Heavy weather and the mind of the West African farmer
A growing body of evidence suggests that unpredictable weather linked to climate change has the potential to injure people’s minds, leading to an increase in the development of common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety
World enters era of ‘global water bankruptcy’, UN report warns
Traditional talk of a water crisis and water stress no longer reflects the current reality
Climate leaders condemn US withdrawal from UN frameworks
The US is set to exit the UN climate treaty and key global science institutions under a Trump directive, a move critics say will isolate the country and deepen climate and biodiversity risks
How cities in developing regions can build climate resilience
Developing cities like Cape Town are at great risk of climate risk, they need to plan smart
G20 presidency handover to the US set for Tuesday, Dirco director general Zane Dangor says
Dangor said the US argument that if one G20 member was absent from the leaders summit, then there could be no consensus, had been voted down
‘World not doing tit for tat with US,’ WTO head says at G20 summit
Director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said South Africa’s G20 presidency highlighted the importance of trade within WTO rules and reforming the system through local mineral beneficiation
‘G20 declaration future-proofed, despite US non-participation’, says South Africa’s presidency
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said countries understood ‘that there’s a bilateral issue between South Africa and the US, but that must not, in any shape or form, undermine or imperil the work of the G20’
Ramaphosa: G20 leaders summit reaches consensus on adopting a declaration
In an apparent reference to US President Donald Trump’s absence, Ramaphosa warned against allowing ‘anything to diminish the value, the stature or the impact of the first African G20 presidency’
South African climate activist makes a desperate plea for urgent action, kneeling in a protest
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
Off target: Unep warns that the world is still falling short of the Paris climate goals
A decade after the Paris Agreement united countries behind the goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C, the latest Emissions Gap report from the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) delivers a sobering message: global efforts remain off target. Despite new pledges and some policy progress, the world is still heading toward dangerous levels […]
