Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 7 June 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse says the ruling by the High Court in Pretoria against the National Energy Regulator and Turkish company Karpowership is a major victory for civil society in the energy sector. OUTA challenged Nersa’s decisions to approve power generation licenses for Karpowership, citing procedural unfairness and lack of transparency. OUTA’s Stefanie Fick hailed the court’s order for punitive costs and full record disclosure as a precedent for increased regulatory scrutiny:

# The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town has reduced energy use by 40-percent and diverted 62-percent of waste from landfills. This has all been achieved since starting its sustainability journey in 2008. The Waterfront has also achieved a 47-percent reduction in carbon emissions, demonstrating its commitment to a sustainable future. Spokesperson Donald Kau says they are planning to eliminate single-use plastics by next year and ensure new buildings achieve a minimum net-zero green rating.

# And finally: Reconstructing the estimated 200-thousand buildings destroyed in the first four months of Israel’s assault on Gaza, will generate nearly 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. This is according to research published on the Social Science Research Network. Co-author of the research, Ben Neimark, says one of the serious consequences of the war has been the violation of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. He adds while the world’s attention is rightly focused on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the climate consequences are also catastrophic.

Stay tuned for more news………….