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24 results
The Green Hydrogen Catalyst: Igniting Local Development through Green Trade Enablers
The document outlines a strategy for South Africa to develop its green hydrogen ecosystem by prioritizing trade-focused investments that deliver local benefits. It identifies critical hurdles, including inefficient ports and a lack of domestic electrolyser manufacturing, and proposes solutions such as 'green corridors' for marine fuels and regional certification standards. The brief emphasizes that social acceptance, particularly regarding water scarcity and community consultation, is essential for the sector's viability.
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Document type: Policy brief
Voorgestelde Opname Aktiwiteite in Blokke 9 en 11B/12B Suidkus, Suid-Afrika
Main Street 1549 (Pty) Ltd proposes 'downscaled and non-intrusive' surveys in Blocks 9 and 11B/12B, located between Mossel Bay and Gqeberha, to support potential oil and gas development in the Outeniqua region. The activities include seabed mapping, sampling, and the use of underwater robots, requiring a 500 m2 exclusion zone around survey vessels. The document warns of potential negative impacts on marine life, including whales and dolphins, and the livelihoods of local fishing and tourism sectors. It also notes that the project is unlikely to create significant local employment. Public comments on the Draft Scoping Report are requested by 3 April 2025, as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment process managed by SLR Consulting (South Africa).
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Document type: Guide
Proposed Survey Activities in Blocks 9 and 11B/12B South Coast, South Africa
Main Street 1549 (Pty) Ltd proposes 'downscaled and non-invasive' surveys in Licence Blocks 9 and 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin to inform future oil and gas production infrastructure. The surveys involve seafloor mapping, sampling, and the use of Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs), with a 500-metre exclusion zone around vessels. Potential impacts include disruption to marine life (specifically whales, dolphins, and migratory fish), noise and water pollution from vessel discharges, and negative effects on local livelihoods tied to fishing and tourism. The document also highlights risks to the cultural and spiritual heritage of indigenous groups who view the area as 'living' waters. Public comments on the Draft Scoping Report are requested by 3 April 2025.
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Document type: Guide
INTO OKUMELE UYAZI
The document outlines proposed survey activities by Main Street 1549 (Pty) Ltd in Blocks 9 and 11B/12B off the southern coast of South Africa. It describes the technical nature of the surveys—including bathymetry, sonar, and ROV use—and the potential negative impacts on marine biodiversity, local livelihoods (fishing, tourism, and shipping), and cultural heritage. The pamphlet serves as a call for public participation, detailing a schedule of community meetings in March 2025 and the process for submitting formal objections or comments to SLR Consulting by 3 April 2025.
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Document type: Guide
Equity & Just Transition Commitments in South Africa
The report evaluates how national, provincial, city, and corporate entities in South Africa incorporate social justice into their net zero commitments. It finds significant disparities in ambition and implementation, with wealthy urban centres leading and less affluent provinces lagging. While the financial sector and some state-owned enterprises show strong just transition frameworks, many private companies and multinational corporations rely on vague offsetting strategies with limited socio-economic integration.
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Document type: Report
SOUTH AFRICA MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORT 2025 Energy Services
The report highlights a growing energy services market in South Africa, shifting from a primary reliance on mitigating loadshedding to goals of cost stability and decarbonisation. Embedded solar PV for the commercial, industrial, and agricultural (CI&A) sectors is projected to grow by 3.8 GW (estimated at R53.2 billion) by 2030. Behind-the-meter (BTM) Li-ion storage is expected to reach 2GWh (estimated at R10 billion) by 2030, driven by value-stacking use cases like peak shaving and tariff arbitrage. Key barriers include ageing municipal distribution infrastructure, administrative capacity constraints in municipalities, and a heavy reliance on imported battery components, particularly from China.
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Document type: Report
TotalEnergies langs die suid-Kaapse kus van Suid Afrika
The document outlines TEEPSA's proposal to extract gas and explore for other reserves in Block 11B/12B, located 75 km from Cape St Francis and 120 km from Mossel Bay. It details the planned drilling activities, the use of the F-A platform, and the potential environmental and social impacts, including risks to marine biodiversity, local livelihoods, and the climate. While TEEPSA claims the project will create thousands of jobs and provide a lower-carbon alternative to coal for power generation, the guide highlights concerns regarding fossil fuel investment and the disruption of cultural and spiritual connections to the sea.
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Document type: Guide
FACTSHEET: SHELL SEISMIC SURVEYS OFF THE WILD COAST OF SOUTH AFRICA
The document details two court cases aimed at halting Shell's seismic surveys off South Africa's Wild Coast. While one urgent interdict was dismissed, another was granted on 28 December 2021, based on potential harm to the constitutional, spiritual, and cultural rights of local communities. The applicants argue that Shell lacked necessary environmental authorizations under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), failed to properly consult stakeholders, and ignored climate change impacts. They seek to set aside the exploration rights granted to Impact Africa and Shell, and to establish a legal precedent that an Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) under the MPRDA is not a substitute for a NEMA environmental authorization.
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Document type: Fact sheet
COMMENTS ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE BILL, 2018
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing the Life After Coal/Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle Campaign, submitted detailed comments on the Climate Change Bill, 2018. The CER argues that the Bill focuses too heavily on government bureaucracy and fails to address the urgency of the climate crisis or provide sufficient mechanisms for holding emitters accountable. Key recommendations include setting a strict, legally binding emissions trajectory aligned with the Paris Agreement, ensuring full public disclosure of carbon budgets and GHG reports, and establishing independent oversight and appeals bodies.
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Document type: Statement
Planning for employment effects of climate change in the chemicals and chemical products sub-sector
The document analyzes how biophysical climate impacts and international trade shifts threaten employment in South Africa's chemicals sub-sector, while identifying job creation potential through mitigation and adaptation interventions.
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Document type: Research paper
State Capture at a Local Level
The document details how a network of officials and politicians captured the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, specifically within the Human Settlements and Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) departments. It describes the use of 'deviations' in procurement to funnel funds to a small pool of contractors and the role of political factions within the ANC in enabling this corruption. The author analyzes these events through frameworks of neo-patrimonialism and the 'political marketplace,' noting that such capture led to administrative decay, financial crises, and a loss of public trust, eventually resulting in a decline in ANC electoral support in the 2016 elections. The paper concludes by evaluating a 2015 intervention led by Mayor Danny Jordaan and the National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) to restore accountability and clean up the administration.
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Document type: Research paper
National Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Report 2009-10
The National Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Report 2009-10 provides a comprehensive overview of environmental law enforcement activities in South Africa from April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010. It details the growth of the Environmental Management Inspectorate (EMI), national statistics on criminal and administrative enforcement, and specific case studies regarding industrial pollution and biodiversity crimes, particularly rhino poaching.
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Document type: Report
A deed changes hands and a farm still thrives
The document analyzes South Africa's land reform efforts, focusing on redistribution, restitution, and tenure reform. It highlights the Mataffin Farm in Nelspruit as a successful model where white owners and black claimants collaborated to ensure agricultural productivity during the transfer. However, it contrasts this with broader systemic failures, including slow implementation, budget constraints, and violent rural conflict. The text discusses the tension between the government's goal to transfer 30% of white-owned land by 2015 and the reality of only 3% being transferred. It also addresses fears that South Africa might mirror Zimbabwe's economic collapse due to land grabs, while emphasizing that post-settlement support and managerial training are critical to preventing agricultural failure.
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Document type: Case study
ARE WE TAKING PHYSICAL EVIDENCE SERIOUSLY?
The SAPS Criminal Record and Forensic Science Service (CRFSS) faces significant operational hurdles despite improvements in DNA backlogs between 2004 and 2006. Key challenges include high staff turnover due to low salaries, insufficient training for forensic field workers leading to poor quality evidence, and delays caused by a lack of prosecutor requests for DNA analysis. To address these, the SAPS implemented the Genetic Sample Processing System (GSPS) in 2007, a large-scale robotics system designed to eliminate human error and increase processing volume. The author recommends market-related salaries, contractual training bonds, and the establishment of an offender DNA database to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice process.
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Document type: Research paper
Hichange Investments (Pty) Ltd v Cape Produce Co (Pty) Ltd t/a Pelts Products and Others
This briefing outlines a 2001 High Court of South Africa judgment regarding the discharge of noxious gases from a tannery and the subsequent failure of government officials to address the pollution.
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Document type: Briefing
FACING THE FUTURE: THE SOUTH AFRICAN ARMY AND TRANSFORMATION
The document details the transformation of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Army following the 1994 democratic transition. It outlines a shift toward civil control, broad representivity, and a streamlined administrative structure called the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which is expected to save R300 million. The transformation involves integrating former non-statutory forces (NSF) and statutory forces, implementing affirmative action, and redefining the Army's mission from winning land battles to providing battle-ready troops for a Joint Operations Organisation. The papers highlight challenges such as budgetary restrictions, ageing equipment, and the need to combat racial prejudice within the ranks, while projecting a future role focused on territorial integrity and regional peacekeeping within the SADC and OAU frameworks.
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Document type: Research paper
2014-05-30-fa27-unresolved-matters-for-wg2-b2f71f4b9934e3eb.pdf
This briefing document details the proceedings of a technical working group meeting on April 28, 2009, regarding unresolved air quality emission standards for various industrial categories. It records disputes and agreements between government representatives (DEAT, DEADP), industry bodies (SAISI, RMEF, FAPA, ACMP), and NGOs (LRC, Groundwork) over specific pollutant limits for NOx, SO2, particulate matter (PM), and heavy metals.
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Document type: Briefing
annexure-a-26333ba73b763b35.pdf
A formal request sent on 29 November 2016 by the Life After Coal Campaign and other environmental organisations to the South African Minister of Energy, seeking an extension for public comment on the Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) and the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Update and demanding the release of critical supporting documents.
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Document type: Statement
coct-heads-f8ffde8673eda46e.pdf
This document contains the Applicant's Heads of Argument and Practice Note filed by the City of Cape Town in the High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria). The City is seeking a declaratory order regarding the interpretation of section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act 4 of 2006 (ERA), arguing that a ministerial determination is not required for an independent power producer (IPP) to establish a new power plant and supply electricity to the City. The City contends that the current interpretation held by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) and the Minister of Energy is either legally incorrect or unconstitutional as it infringes upon the autonomy of local government.
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Document type: Briefing
Piloting LPG/Petrol Hybrid Vehicles in the Western Cape
The document details a proof of concept (POC) conducted by Octotel and KepuGas in Cape Town to evaluate LPG as an alternative fuel for light delivery vehicles. Testing on a Nissan NP200 and a Fiat Fiorino demonstrated significant cost savings (between 39.8% and 44.2%) and a reduction in emissions, specifically an estimated 22% decrease in CO2 and 68% decrease in NOx compared to petrol. The study highlights LPG's potential as a transition fuel toward full decarbonisation, noting its safety, lower maintenance costs due to reduced carbon build-up, and the ability for fleet owners to claim VAT.
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Document type: Case study