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The document outlines TEEPSA's plan to conduct exploration drilling in the southern part of the DWOB license block, located approximately 211 km from Saldanha. It details the environmental impact assessment process, the planned drilling activities—including the use of mobile offshore drilling units and support vessels—and the potential negative impacts on marine species, fishing livelihoods, and intangible cultural heritage. It urges affected parties to register and submit comments by February 19, 2025.

The document outlines TEEPSA's proposal to drill up to seven exploration and appraisal wells in a 15,000 km2 area of the Deep Water Orange Basin South, located approximately 211km from Saldanha. It details the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, the technical phases of drilling, and potential risks to marine life, fishing livelihoods, and the cultural heritage of coastal communities. The public is invited to submit comments on the draft Scoping Report by 19 February 2025.

The document advocates for a 'deep' just transition in African food systems that prioritizes human rights, structural equity, and agroecology over industrialization. It highlights the vulnerabilities of African food systems to climate change and the risks of 'modernization' policies that favor agribusiness. Using South Africa's highly unequal, industrial food system as a cautionary example, the brief recommends that philanthropies shift toward long-term, flexible funding for multi-actor coalitions, grassroots initiatives, and participatory research to foster systemic change.

The 2025 City Profiling Report for Cape Town describes a city with strong institutional governance and high service delivery standards relative to other SADC cities, yet one plagued by deep structural inequality and chronic traffic congestion. While the city maintains a clean audit record and high human development indices, it faces significant challenges in youth unemployment, informal settlement growth, and climate vulnerability, particularly regarding water scarcity and fire risk.

The report outlines three primary investment opportunities in the Western Cape's renewable energy sector: embedded solar PV for C&I and agricultural users, large-scale wind and solar projects, and behind-the-meter (BTM) lithium-ion storage. While the market is driven by rising electricity costs, decarbonisation pressures from export markets (such as the EU's CBAM), and a liberalising regulatory framework (Electricity Regulation Amendment Act of 2024), it faces significant barriers. These include severe grid constraints, administrative backlogs in municipalities, a shortage of specialised technical skills, and a high reliance on imported battery components, particularly from China.

The report outlines a shift in South Africa's renewable energy sector from public procurement to private off-taker agreements, driven by electricity market liberalisation and corporate decarbonisation needs. It estimates a total investment potential of R132 billion for private renewable energy development and R16 billion for local component manufacturing by 2030. Key barriers include severe grid capacity constraints in high-resource provinces and policy uncertainty regarding the future of public procurement programmes.

The report highlights two primary investment areas in the Western Cape's agricultural sector: smart farming, specifically precision-spraying via drones, and undercover farming using shade netting and tunnels. It notes that while the sector grew to R25.6 billion in 2023, producers face pressure from rising input costs and new EU sustainability regulations (CSRD and CS3D). Precision-spraying drones offer a market size of R156 million for grain and R50.9 million for tree crops per season, while undercover farming represents a larger market of R5.4–8.6 billion, driven by water scarcity and the need for climate resilience. The report emphasizes that undercover farming has seen significant growth, with shade netting area increasing 329% between 2018 and 2023, particularly in berries and citrus fruit production.

Natural Justice assesses South Africa's 2025 draft NDC, acknowledging progress in absolute emissions targets but warning that these are undermined by over-reliance on international conditionality and a lack of concrete implementation plans. The submission argues that the draft fails to meet the 'highest possible ambition' standard set by the ICJ, citing gaps in adaptation financing, the exclusion of natural disturbance emissions from accounting, and the absence of a clear fossil fuel phase-out schedule. It recommends integrating a Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA), establishing a grant-based Loss and Damage facility funded partly by a tax on fossil fuel profits, and mandating Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for all climate projects.

The report identifies potential marine OECM mechanisms in South Africa, such as permanent fisheries exclusion zones and military zones, which could add 1.27% to the mainland exclusive economic zone's conservation coverage. It outlines a six-workstream roadmap for legal, social, financial, and procedural implementation, while specifically exploring the potential for novel small-scale fishing zones to balance biodiversity conservation with community livelihoods.

The report analyzes the digital information ecosystem during South Africa's May 2024 elections, identifying a complex market of paid and ideological influencers who used coordinated strategies to undermine electoral institutions and distort political narratives.

The document examines the 2024 Climate Change Act in South Africa, highlighting the critical role of local governments as front-end responders to climate impacts. It identifies significant barriers to implementation, including poor financial management, administrative capacity constraints, and a disconnect between political governance and the economy. To address these, the author recommends professionalising the public service through the Public Service Commission and strengthening the use of the Local Government Climate Change Support Programme to ensure municipalities can meet their legal mandate of submitting climate response assessments every five years.

The report identifies systemic failures in South African municipal public participation, where the IDP process is often viewed as a 'compliance exercise' rather than meaningful engagement. Key findings highlight the dysfunction of ward committees due to political interference and poor resourcing, a 'crisis of communication' between municipalities and residents, and a lack of accountability in performance management. It recommends moving beyond tokenistic participation toward a culture of transparency, improved civic education, and the professionalisation of the political-administrative interface to restore community trust and improve service delivery.

The report argues that South Africa has failed to translate its constitutional right to water into reality for millions of poor households. While physical access to piped water has increased since 1994, the state has substituted a comprehensive human-rights definition of access with a narrow focus on physical infrastructure. The report finds that the Free Basic Water (FBW) policy is inadequate because its 6kl monthly allocation is well below WHO minimums and is often restricted to a small number of registered indigent households. Furthermore, the report highlights a fundamental contradiction between municipal financial sustainability and affordable access, noting that high tariffs force poor households to sacrifice food expenditure to pay for water. It recommends revising the minimum water allowance to 75l per person per day, establishing a national indigent policy, and creating an independent water regulator to enforce concrete affordability standards.

The fact sheet examines the crisis of food insecurity in South Africa, noting that while the country produces enough food, millions lack the income to access it. It highlights the severe health and economic consequences of malnutrition, particularly for children, and argues that existing targeted grants are insufficient. The document proposes a UBIG as a direct mechanism to eliminate hunger, while cautioning that it must be part of a broader strategy including a 'just food transition' to address systemic issues and climate change risks.

The Green Connection (TGC) and Natural Justice (NJ) are seeking a judicial review in the Western Cape High Court to set aside the environmental authorisation granted to TotalEnergies EP South Africa Block 567 (Total) for exploration drilling between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. The legal challenge is based on six grounds, including the failure to assess socio-economic impacts on small-scale fisheries, the omission of climate change impacts from gas combustion, and the lack of consideration for transboundary effects on Namibia. In July 2024, Total announced its decision to withdraw from Block 567, where it held a 40% commercial interest. Following this, Total applied to the court to join Shell as a party to the proceedings, a move opposed by TGC and NJ on the grounds that the case concerns the environmental authorisation granted to Total, not the exploration right itself.

The Green Connection (TGC) and Natural Justice (NJ) have filed for judicial review in the Western Cape High Court to overturn the environmental authorisation granted to Total Energies EP South Africa Block 567 (Pty) Ltd for offshore drilling. The challenge is based on six grounds, including failures to assess socio-economic impacts on small-scale fishers, climate change impacts from gas burning, and transboundary risks to Namibia. Following Total's July 2024 announcement of its withdrawal from block 567, the company filed a joinder application to include Shell as a party in the case, which TGC and NJ oppose on the grounds that the exploration right has lapsed and the challenge concerns the authorisation granted to Total, not the exploration right itself.

The CCFLA and Urban-Act Subnational Assessment Tool is designed to help city and regional officials identify strengths and gaps in the regulatory, institutional, and financial environments necessary to scale urban climate finance. The tool evaluates 49 dimensions across four categories: Climate Policy, Budget and Finance, Climate Data, and Vertical and Horizontal Coordination. It provides a structured six-step application process—from institutional mapping to the development of follow-up roadmaps—and includes a comprehensive directory of external resources and global case studies to guide subnational governments in improving their creditworthiness, data reporting, and intergovernmental cooperation.

The report finds that the DMRE has exhibited significant reluctance to lead South Africa's just energy transition (JET), often viewing it as a 'western imposition'. This resistance is rooted in the historical minerals-energy complex (MEC) and a desire to protect vested interests in the coal sector and black industrialist projects. The document highlights a lack of policy articulation, poor stakeholder engagement, and internal organizational incoherence caused by repeated mergers and splits. It recommends that the successor departments—Mineral and Petroleum Resources, and Electricity and Energy—improve transparency, update the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) regularly, and align the transition with the post-apartheid racial transformation agenda.

The report examines how the Violence Prevention Forum (VPF) influences government officials in South Africa, finding that it enhances intersectoral collaboration and provides a critical 'thinking space' for personal and professional reflection. While some officials find the emotionally demanding and non-traditional methods challenging, many have adopted VPF's inclusive practices and soft skills within their own departments, such as the Department of Basic Education and the Western Cape Government, to improve policy work and internal culture.

The document proposes a shift in South Africa's TVET sector from a jobs-centric model to a 'wellbeing economy' framework to support the emerging green hydrogen (GH2) sector. It advocates for 'skills governance'—integrating foresight, planning, and anticipation—to address unemployment and inequality. Key recommendations include establishing a skills governance working group, creating green economy skills incubator hubs, adopting innovative financing like social impact bonds, and implementing a Universal Basic Dividend (UBD) to redistribute wealth from common resources used in GH2 projects.