MISSING: The voice of black youth in climate discourse
The changing climate means increased levels of uncertainty and instability for everyone’s future, and in South Africa it is young, black Africans who are amongst the most vulnerable to the climate crisis. The development of any nation lies in its future generations, and yet the youth often have little to no influence on decisions that […]
More eyes than ever will be on SPAR’s AGM
SPAR Group’s upcoming annual general meeting (AGM) will be closely watched by an unusually wide array of stakeholders. Those with some financial exposure, like shareholders, employees, independent retailers and wholesalers, will want clarity on recent serious allegations – including of creative accounting and discrimination – as well as an indication that the board has a […]
Look beyond business’s hot air
With COP27 in full swing, it’s worth remembering that the corporates sounding off so piously about the environment have for years stood in the way of climate change mitigation efforts. The 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP27, began this week in Egypt. The annual gathering of […]
The great gaslight
This article was first published in the Financial Mail on 13 October 2022. In his 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell coined the term “doublethink” to describe a form of indoctrination that requires subjects to simultaneously accept two conflicting ideas as the truth. Doublethink means “to know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while […]
Court shines light on Mantashe’s fossil fuel bias
This article was first published in the Financial Mail on 15 September 2022. A high court judgment shatters any lingering illusions about the government’s willingness to apply or comply with the law. In late 2021, a group of community organisations and NGOs successfully approached the Makhanda high court for an interim interdict to stop an imminent seismic […]
Government must not give in to intense fossil fuel industry lobbying on Carbon Tax Act
On 29 August, Just Share submitted comments on proposed amendments to the Carbon Tax Act, 2019 (CTA). The article below, first published in the Daily Maverick on 6 September 2022, sums up our submissions and explains why the proposed amendents fall far short of what is needed to reflect the true cost of emissions and the urgent need for polluters to […]
Investing in more renewables without phasing out coal mining is not climate action
This article was first published in the Daily Maverick on 23 August 2022. Last week, Exxaro Resources presented its 2022 interim results. The company’s new CEO, Dr Nombasa Tsengwa, spoke at length about Exxaro’s growth plans for its renewable energy business. But what was not said is equally important. There was not a word about decarbonising – or running […]
Zoning out the critics
This article was first published in the Financial Mail on 11 August 2022. Instead of welcoming public participation in the Musina-Makhado SEZ’s approvals process, public officials have resisted transparency and vilified those demanding it. “Some individuals and organisations elected to become the champions and advocates for the perpetuation of poverty and unemployment among the voiceless poor people […]
Reckoning with greenwashing
This article was first published in the Daily Maverick on 2 August 2022. Climate action is on every government and corporate agenda, but the world is far behind where it should be in acting to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. This is thanks at least in part to corporate advertising and lobbying that has cynically […]
In praise of SA’s unsung heroes
This article was first published in the Financial Mail on 14 July 2022. In the face of government’s callous disregard, the social justice sector strives to give real meaning to SA’s progressive constitution. Our society would be all the poorer without it. If you are the kind of person who holds out hope that a more just, […]
