Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 17 October 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# The Presidential Climate Commission is convening its second public dialogue on South Africa’s Climate Change Response Fund in Rosebank, Johannesburg, today. The establishment of the fund announced by president Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this year, aims to counter the severe effects of global warming and climate change. The commission says they will discuss South Africa’s climate adaptation funding gap, and mobilise public and private investment to improve the country’s resilience against the growing impacts of climate change.

# The City of Cape Town is inviting potential tenderers to bid for its first-ever battery energy storage facility. Officials held a sod-turning ceremony at the site of the seven-to-ten megawatts solar photovoltaic plant in Atlantis last week. Interested bidders are encouraged to submit their applications by the 20th of November. Mayoral committee member for Energy, Xanthea Limberg, says battery storage systems are increasingly important as more renewable energy comes onto the grid:

# And finally, conservationists have found at least eight species of bats using a collection of abandoned coal mines in the English county Yorkshire as a prime mating spot. The mineshafts and surrounding moorland near Barnsley have become an autumn swarming location. Female bats only give birth to one offspring each year, so swarming is critical for raising the next generation of bats. Conservationists say monitoring projects like these are important since bats as a group provide an excellent indicator of the wider health of their eco-system.

Stay tuned for more news………….