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643 results
Incorporation of Environmental Considerations in Energy Planning in the People’s Republic of China
This 1995 report by the Stockholm Environment Institute, conducted as a UNEP project with the National Environmental Protection Agency of China, analyzes the environmental impacts of energy planning in the People's Republic of China. Using the LEAP/EDB model, the study compares a Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario against two enhanced environmental scenarios to forecast pollutant emissions (SO2, CO2, NOx, PM, and CO) through 2020. The report identifies coal as the primary driver of pollution and recommends a shift toward a cleaner energy mix, improved energy efficiency, and the implementation of integrated energy-environment planning and economic instruments to achieve sustainable development.
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Document type: Report
GENERAL POLICY IN TERMS OF THE ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION ACT 73 OF 1989
The General Policy in terms of the Environment Conservation Act 73 of 1989 is a South African government statement establishing a framework for environmental management. It defines the principles of sustainable development, assigns accountability to government institutions, and outlines specific policy goals across sectors including land use, pollution control, nature conservation, and energy.
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Document type: Statement
CHLORINE AND THE PAPER INDUSTRY
This case study examines the conflict between the U.S. pulp and paper industry, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Greenpeace over the use of chlorine in bleaching processes. The central tension involves the production of toxic organochlorines, specifically dioxins, and the debate over whether the industry should move toward elemental chlorine-free (ECF) or totally chlorine-free (TCF) technologies. The document details the 'cluster rule' regulatory approach and the economic and environmental trade-offs associated with different bleaching standards.
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Document type: Case study
Lessons learned from developing a climate master’s programme
This case study describes the development of a flexible master's programme in climate change and sustainable development designed for universities across the SADC region. Led by a consortium of 23 academics from six universities, the project aimed to create a shared curriculum to build capacity for climate compatible development in southern Africa.
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Document type: Case study
TAKING ACTION ON SUPPRESSED DEMAND
This policy brief by the LDC Environment Centre, supported by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), argues for the inclusion of 'suppressed demand' in the baseline and monitoring methodologies of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). It contends that current CDM methodologies disadvantage Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and African nations by using actual constrained consumption as a baseline, which ignores the unmet needs of poor populations and reduces the volume of tradable carbon credits (CERs). The document outlines the barriers causing suppressed demand and calls for capacity building and the operationalization of guidelines adopted by the CDM Executive Board and the Conference of the Parties (CMP).
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Document type: Policy brief
TAKING ACTION ON SUPPRESSED DEMAND
This technical paper examines the concept of 'suppressed demand' within the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol, arguing that failing to account for unmet needs in low-income countries leads to underestimated baselines and marginalizes Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and African nations in the carbon market.
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Document type: Research paper
Implementing an inclusive National Framework for Climate Services
This fact sheet outlines strategies for implementing an inclusive National Framework for Climate Services to ensure equal opportunities for all people to benefit from weather and climate information, specifically within the context of the WISER programme in Africa.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Green Bond Market in Colombia ROAD MAP
The 'Green Bond Market in Colombia ROAD MAP' is a report designed to assist the Colombian Government and the Finance Management Committee of SISCLIMA in developing a successful green bond market. It identifies the potential for green growth funding, analyzes existing barriers in both the green and ordinary bond markets, and proposes a two-phase action plan to establish foundations and expand the market.
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Document type: Report
7-e3681c85ab0a5935.pdf
This document consists of two primary components: an Environmental Management Framework (EMF) and a Spatial Development Framework (SDF) for the Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Local Municipality (PKISLM). The EMF establishes seven Environmental Management Zones (EMZs) to guide sustainable development by identifying preferred and undesirable land uses based on environmental sensitivities. The SDF provides broad spatial policy guidelines to manage regional growth, balancing economic development—particularly in agriculture, trade, and community services—with the conservation of critical grasslands and wetlands.
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Document type: Report
RESPONDING STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY ATHA AFRICA VENTURES (PTY) LTD. (THE APPLICANT / RESPONDENT) IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL SUBMITTED BY EARTHLIFE AFRICA JOHANNESBURG FIRST APPELLANT BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA SECOND APPELLANT MINING AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE NETWORK OF SOUTH AFRICA THIRD APPELLANT ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST FOURTH APPELLANT FEDERATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT FIFTH APPELLANT GROUNDWORK SIXTH SIXTH APPELLANT ASSOCIATION FOR WATER AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT SEVENTH APPELLANT BENCH MARKS FOUNDATION EIGHTH APPELLANT
This document is a responding statement submitted by Atha Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd. (AAV) to the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs. It responds to an appeal filed by eight environmental and social organizations against the granting of an Environmental Authorization for the proposed Yzermyn Underground Coal Mine (YUCM) in the Magisterial District of Wakkerstroom, Mpumalanga Province.
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Document type: Statement
KM_C554e-20180912161209
This document consists of a letter from the South African Department of Water and Sanitation to the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and a formal petition from ACWA Power Khanyisa Thermal Power Station (RF) (Pty) Ltd. ACWA Power is requesting that the Minister of Water and Sanitation uplift the automatic suspension of its Integrated Water Use Licence (IWUL), which was suspended following an appeal lodged by the CER on behalf of groundWork.
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Document type: Statement
annexures-part-2-a-5c0e968dca8cb11d.pdf
This document is an affidavit deposed by Moegamat Ishaam Abader, Acting Director-General of the National Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, responding to the submissions of Mr. Boyd, a United Nations Special Rapporteur admitted as an amicus curiae in a High Court of South Africa case. Abader argues that Mr. Boyd's affidavit is biased, relies on inadmissible hearsay evidence, and fails to distinguish between binding 'hard law' and non-binding 'soft law' in international environmental law. The affidavit asserts that South African courts must balance environmental protection with the constitutional mandate for sustainable development and socio-economic progress, and that the state's obligations are to be realised progressively within available resources.
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Document type: Statement
APPELLANTS’ HEADS OF ARGUMENT IN THE APPEAL IN TERMS OF SECTION 149 OF THE NATIONAL WATER ACT NO. 36 OF 1998
This document contains the Appellants' Heads of Argument filed by the Centre for Environmental Rights on behalf of the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the Federation for a Sustainable Environment. The appeal, brought under section 149 of the National Water Act (NWA), challenges a Water Tribunal decision that dismissed an appeal against the granting of a water use licence (WUL) to Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd for the proposed Yzermyn Underground Coal Mine. The appellants argue that the Water Tribunal erred on several questions of law, including the failure to consider the strategic importance of the mine area, the absence of landowner consent, the misapplication of the precautionary principle, the lack of post-closure water treatment provisions, and the misapprehension of the burden of proof regarding socio-economic impacts.
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Document type: Report
APPLICANTS’ HEADS OF ARGUMENT
The document contains the applicants' heads of argument in a legal matter before the High Court of South Africa, Mpumalanga Division. A coalition of seven non-profit organisations seeks the review and setting aside of a decision by the MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs to exclude four properties from the Mabola Protected Environment to facilitate the construction of an underground coal mine by Uthaka Energy (Pty) Ltd.
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Document type: Report
atha-affidavit-in-response-to-cer-a155-2019-served-2020-09-28-cd111bb9747134c6.pdf
This document is an affidavit filed by Praveer Tripathi, Senior Vice President of Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd (now Uthaka Energy), in the High Court of South Africa. The affidavit responds to a filing by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), alleging that the CER and its attorney, Catherine Horsfield, have a conflict of interest because they are acting as both legal representatives for environmental groups and as activists with their own agenda to stop coal mining. Tripathi details a decade of litigation and media campaigns led by the CER to obstruct Atha-Africa's coal-mining project in the Mabola Protected Environment, arguing that these actions follow a global 'disrupt and delay' strategy used by environmental NGOs to make fossil fuel projects unviable.
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Document type: Statement
WRITTEN RESPONSE OF SECOND RESPONDENT TO SUBSTITUTED APPEAL SUBMISSION OF 1 DECEMBER 2017
This document is a written response from Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd (the Second Respondent) to a substituted appeal submitted on 1 December 2017. The appeal, lodged by the Endangered Wildlife Trust, the Federation for a Sustainable Environment, and Mpumalanga Landbou/Agriculture, challenges the Director-General of the Department of Water and Sanitation's decision to grant a water use licence for the Yzermyn Project. Atha-Africa argues that the Appellants rely on outdated reports and a misunderstanding of the precautionary principle, asserting that the project's environmental impacts are localised, manageable through mitigation, and balanced by significant socio-economic benefits.
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Document type: Statement
eskom-response-to-lacs-updated-comments-30-08-2020-ens-esk_bk-v2-8bac82a74bc02772.pdf
This document is a formal exchange between the Life After Coal (LAC) campaign—a joint effort by the Centre for Environmental Rights, groundWork, and Earthlife Africa—and Eskom. The LAC objects to Eskom's applications for alternative emission limits and exemptions from the Minimum Emission Standards (MES) for the Medupi and Matimba power stations. Eskom defends its use of legal mechanisms for postponement and exemptions, citing financial constraints, the need for energy security, and the principles of sustainable development.
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Document type: Report
zo-28-4f6f70490b0133ea.pdf
This research paper examines the legal framework and practical application of environmental authorizations for mining activities in South Africa, specifically focusing on the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). The author argues that the current system of 'environmental authorizations' is often treated as a mere formality rather than a substantive tool for sustainable development, leading to inadequate environmental protection and a failure to properly integrate social and environmental costs into mining operations.
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Document type: Research paper
What agenda for the review of TRIPS?: A sustainable development perspective
This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law analyzes the need to rebalance the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) from a sustainable development perspective. It examines the outcomes of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, specifically regarding public health, the relationship between TRIPS and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the protection of traditional knowledge, while highlighting the interlinkages between the TRIPS Council and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
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Document type: Briefing
DECENTRALIZATION AND COMMUNITY-BASED PROPERTY RIGHTS
This briefing from the Center for International Environmental Law discusses the conceptual and legal framework of community-based property rights (CBPRs), distinguishing them from Western property concepts and state-led decentralization. It argues that the legal recognition of CBPRs is a necessary condition for environmental justice and sustainable development, particularly for indigenous peoples in the Global South.
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Document type: Briefing