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421 results
Scoping the green bond landscape in Africa
This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute maps the green bond landscape in Africa as of January 2021. It identifies the market as nascent and underdeveloped, dominated by a few states and entities, and outlines the structural barriers and opportunities for scaling up green finance to meet climate mitigation and adaptation needs across the continent.
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Document type: Briefing
Ecosystem-based Flood Risk Management in Sub-Saharan Cities Summary Paper
This executive summary describes a scoping study on Ecosystem-based Flood Risk Management in five Sub-Saharan cities: Accra, Cape Town, Durban, Nairobi, and Mombasa. It evaluates the integration of nature-based solutions (NbS) and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) alongside traditional grey infrastructure to address urban flooding exacerbated by climate change, rapid urbanization, and poor urban planning.
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Document type: Executive summary
Voices from the Frontline of Covid-19
This report synthesises 50 'Voices from the Frontline' stories from June 2020 to October 2021, documenting how local communities in Asia and the Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean coped with the compounding effects of Covid-19, climate change, and socioeconomic vulnerability. It examines these experiences through the lens of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting grassroots resilience and the need for external actors to support locally-led solutions.
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Document type: Report
Redistribution of Excess Merchandise in the Retail Sector
This case study by GreenCape examines The Clothing Bank, a non-profit intermediary in South Africa that diverts excess retail clothing from landfills to create entrepreneurial opportunities for unemployed single mothers, demonstrating a circular economy model that addresses both waste and poverty.
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Document type: Case study
CAPE TOWN’S RESILIENCE STRATEGY
This case study by GreenCape examines resilience-led economic interventions implemented in 2020 to support the green business community in Cape Town and the broader South African economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy follows a 'survive, adapt and thrive' framework, focusing on supporting small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) through international collaborations, innovative funding, and policy alignment to ensure a green recovery.
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Document type: Case study
Using treated effluent for a water resilient Century City Urban Square precinct
This case study by GreenCape examines the Century City Urban Square (CCUS), a mixed-use development by Rabie Property Group in Cape Town. The project demonstrates how the integration of treated effluent (TE) for non-potable uses—such as irrigation, cooling towers, and toilet flushing—reduces potable water demand, lowers operating costs, and increases resilience against climate-related shocks like droughts.
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Document type: Case study
Alternative Water Sources: Sustainable Groundwater Use
This 2021 industry brief by GreenCape provides a guide for businesses and water users in South Africa on the sustainable use and management of groundwater. It outlines the legal framework under the National Water Act, the risks associated with unmonitored abstraction, and technical recommendations for borehole monitoring to ensure long-term water security.
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Document type: Guide
SOCIAL PROTECTION DURING COVID-19: THE RIGHTS TO SOCIAL SECURITY AND AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF LIVING
This fact sheet, published by the Institute for Economic Justice, SECTION27, and the Center for Economic and Social Rights, examines South Africa's social protection systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. It evaluates the government's response against the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), highlighting failures in providing an adequate standard of living, food security, and housing, while detailing recommendations from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
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Document type: Fact sheet
FILING NOTICE
This filing notice and updated practice note, submitted by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) on December 8, 2020, outlines an appeal in the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria). The appeal challenges a Water Tribunal decision that dismissed a previous appeal against the granting of a water use licence (WUL) to Atha-Africa Ventures (Pty) Ltd by the Department of Water and Sanitation.
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Document type: Briefing
Toward a National Strategy and Development Council: The Foreign Policy Dimension
This policy brief proposes the creation of a legislated National Strategy and Development Council (NSDC) within the South African presidency to centralize national strategy and ensure institutional continuity across different administrations. It specifically advocates for restructuring the International Relations Trade and Security (IRTS) cabinet cluster into a directorate and establishing an independent, non-governmental Council on International Relations and Cooperation (CIRC) to provide expert advice and research.
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Document type: Policy brief
AFFIDAVIT
This affidavit, deposed by attorney Michael John Read Evans, provides a professional opinion defending the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) against allegations of unethical conduct. Evans argues that the claim that attorneys must have no interest in the outcome of a matter is flawed and incompatible with the statutory framework for law clinics in South Africa.
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Document type: Statement
UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING RESIDENTIAL SOLAR ROOFTOP PV
This briefing paper by WWF South Africa examines the challenges South African municipalities face as residential rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installations disrupt traditional electricity distribution and revenue models. It highlights the tension between the financial interests of municipalities, which rely on electricity sales to cross-subsidise low-income households, and the economic incentives for affluent homeowners to install PV systems, often without registration. The document proposes the use of strategic tariff design and a new computerised decision-making tool to help municipalities manage the technical, social, and financial complexities of the energy transition.
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Document type: Briefing
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL APPOINTMENT OF A PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION (PDO) TO PROVIDE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT SERVICES
GreenCape issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) on June 19, 2020, to appoint a Product Development Organisation (PDO) to support the Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme (WISP). The project aims to develop viable products or value chains from unwanted manufacturing materials in the Atlantis Industrial Area to improve resource efficiency and reduce landfill waste.
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Document type: Briefing
Keeping safe, staying connected
SAIIA announced the closure of its Cape Town and Wits campus offices and the cancellation of public events starting March 2020 to slow the spread of COVID-19, shifting operations to remote work while maintaining stakeholder engagement via digital platforms.
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Document type: Statement
PRIORITISATION OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL AND OTHER PRESSING CLIMATE CONCERNS FOR 2020
A statement from the Centre for Environmental Rights, on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign, urging the Portfolio Committee on Environment, Forestry and Fisheries to prioritise the Climate Change Bill and accelerate South Africa's transition away from fossil fuels to mitigate severe climate risks.
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Document type: Statement
Financing Fairly Sustainability Report 2020
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) conducted a pilot study using the Fair Finance Guide International (FFGI) methodology to assess the sustainability of investment policies for two South African development finance institutions (DFIs): the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). The report evaluates these institutions against international social, environmental, and human rights standards, specifically highlighting a lack of public policy transparency and insufficient commitments to phasing out fossil fuel financing in the power generation sector.
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Document type: Report
Case Study Diverting Organic Waste from Landfill in Shopping Centres V&A Waterfront Cape Town 2020
This case study by GreenCape details the waste management strategies implemented by the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town to divert organic and general waste from landfills, highlighting the financial and environmental benefits of their approach.
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Document type: Case study
Building economic resilience through partnerships that support early-stage innovation in the start-up eco-system
This case study examines the GreenPitch Innovation Challenge 2019, a partnership between GreenCape, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), and the City of Cape Town's Invest Cape Town initiative. The program aimed to build economic resilience by supporting early-stage green SMMEs, providing them with networking opportunities, expert feedback, and business development support to overcome barriers such as information asymmetry and lack of resources.
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Document type: Case study
Surplus Food Recovery and Redistribution
This case study by GreenCape examines how FoodForward SA, a Public Benefit Organisation, utilizes a circular economy model to recover and redistribute surplus food in South Africa, specifically focusing on the impact within Cape Town during 2020/21.
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Document type: Case study
Green Economy Enterprise Development and Investment
This case study examines the adoption of battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) by District Watch Group, a Cape Town-based security company, to improve operational resilience and reduce costs. The company has integrated 8 BMW i3 EVs into a 60-vehicle fleet, demonstrating a significant reduction in maintenance and fuel expenses compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
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Document type: Case study