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An attribution study of heavy rainfall in coastal New South Wales from May 19-22, 2025, found mixed results regarding the influence of climate change. While observational data suggests a doubling in likelihood for the wettest four-day annual event in a 1.3°C warmer climate, climate models show substantial disagreement on rainfall trends for the region. The study emphasizes the need for flexible adaptation strategies due to this uncertainty.

The report details the negative impacts of Ikwezi Mining's blasting operations on local communities, including structural damage to homes, psychosocial trauma in children, and cultural disruption. It highlights a lack of adequate blasting notices and a non-functional grievance mechanism, while recommending formalized blasting standards for rural South African communities.

The report outlines a strategic framework to transition South Africa's TVET system toward a green hydrogen economy (GHE). It identifies critical gaps in current vocational training, such as low throughput and poor industry alignment, and proposes a 'demand-led' model using Centres of Specialisation (CoS). Through four quantitative scenarios, the report forecasts that an 'All-inclusive Portfolio' of domestic use and exports would maximize GDP growth and TVET job creation by 2050. Key recommendations include developing a Green Skills Master Plan, implementing nano-credentialing, and reskilling workers from sunset industries like coal mining into growth sectors such as platinum mining and green steel.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) argues that the Climate Change Bill requires stronger enforcement mechanisms, more ambitious emissions targets, and greater transparency to effectively address the climate crisis in South Africa. The CER emphasizes that climate change is a human rights and gender justice issue, noting that women and girls face disproportionate risks. Key recommendations include the introduction of criminal and administrative penalties for exceeding carbon budgets, the adoption of a 'near zero' emissions target by 2050, and the creation of a public web-based information portal for climate data. The CER also calls for more inclusive public participation, particularly for remote communities, youth, and women, and suggests establishing an inter-departmental body to coordinate the climate response across government.

The report examines the decline of major industrial activities in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa to derive lessons for contemporary decarbonization efforts. It argues that transition planning is a highly political process and that failing to address pre-existing inequalities or environmental legacies often leads to poor outcomes. Key recommendations include the need for early government engagement, locally-driven planning, and the use of nuanced indicators beyond simple job creation to measure success.

The closure of the BHP steelworks in Newcastle, Australia, serves as a case study in industrial transition. The process was characterized by a decades-long decline that allowed for the development of cooperative relationships between unions and industry, as well as community-led economic diversification. While the transition successfully avoided widespread social collapse and saw a shift toward higher-skilled manufacturing and service sectors, the quality of new employment was often lower (part-time and casual). Additionally, the environmental remediation of the site became the largest in Australian history, with costs exceeding the initial payment from BHP, resulting in a public funding burden.

The document analyzes the multi-decade decline of the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York, and the city's subsequent economic transition. It presents two contrasting narratives: one highlighting the successful diversification into a high-tech hub and the other emphasizing persistent poverty, urban decay, and widening inequality. The study concludes that while leveraging existing infrastructure and university partnerships can spur growth, targeted interventions are necessary to protect low-skilled workers and address environmental legacies.

The decline of gold mining in South Africa's Free State Goldfields led to catastrophic economic collapse, rising poverty, and severe gender-based vulnerabilities. Initial local government responses failed by prioritizing the revival of a vanishing industry over economic diversification. While the Free State Goldfields Development Centre showed early success in job creation and diversification, political factionalism and governance failures undermined long-term gains. National interventions, including Social and Labour Plans, are criticized for being too general and failing to address community-wide needs or local conditions.

The report examines the socioeconomic impacts of industrial decline and evaluates the effectiveness of various transition responses. It argues that successful 'just' transitions require early strategic planning, multi-stakeholder governance, and a holistic approach to regional economic development that builds on existing local capabilities rather than seeking a single industrial replacement. Through case studies in the US, UK, Australia, and South Africa, the document highlights the risks of uneven benefit distribution, the importance of reskilling over simple monetary compensation, and the necessity of addressing environmental legacies to enable land reuse.

The report argues that doubling the SO2 emissions limit would lead to significant increases in PM2.5 exposure and mercury deposition, resulting in approximately 3,300 premature deaths, with a high concentration of impacts in the Gauteng region.

A letter from the South African Department of Environmental Affairs to ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (Newcastle Steel Works) detailing the National Air Quality Officer's decisions regarding applications for alternative limits and the postponement of compliance time-frames for minimum emission standards under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act 39 of 2004.

A statement from the South African Department of Environmental Affairs to the Amajuba District Municipality regarding the application by ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (Newcastle Steel Works) for alternative limits or postponed compliance with the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act 39 of 2004 minimum emission standards.

This document is a Pollution Prevention Plan submitted by ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (AMSA) to the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs on 21 December 2017. The plan covers the period from 21 July 2017 to 31 December 2020 and outlines AMSA's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and potential mitigation measures in accordance with regulations promulgated on 21 July 2017.

This document is a Pollution Prevention Plan (PPP) Progress Report submitted by ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (AMSA) to the South African Minister of Environmental Affairs on 29 March 2019. The report covers the period from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2018, evaluating the company's actual greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions against the mitigation measures specified in its approved PPP.

The case Rex v Marshall & Another [1951] confirmed the convictions of the manager and resident engineer of Natal Cambrian Collieries Ltd for violating Regulation 7(2) of the Mines and Works Regulations, 1937. The court found that the mine had allowed water containing injurious matter to escape without treatment, contaminating a stream that affected lower-lying farms. The court rejected defense arguments that the regulation was void for vagueness, unreasonableness, or ultra vires, ruling that 'injurious' water is that which is unfit for human or animal consumption, dangerous to animal life, or unsuitable for irrigation.

The COMPACT project's action research identifies significant challenges in South African municipal planning, including the tendency for Integrated Development Plan (IDP) cycles to be treated as compliance exercises and the presence of institutional silos. While best practices in public participation and technology use exist, the research highlights a need for increased youth engagement and capacity-building for ward committees to combat community distrust caused by project implementation failures.