Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 11 June 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# Energy company Hive Hydrogen’s incoming green ammonia plant in the Coega Industrial Development Zone in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, is set to drive green industrial development and economic diversification. The 105-billion-rand plant is targeted to produce more than one million tons of ammonia a year for export from 2029. It will also consist of renewable energy plants totalling three-thousand-700 megawatts in the first phase. Phase one of the investment in the plant will result in 20-thousand direct and indirect jobs created in Nelson Mandela Bay.

# Italy, as G7 leader, is urged to ensure member states fulfil their climate finance promises to African nations. This is according to former Malawian president, Joyce Banda. Last year, Cyclone Freddy claimed over one-thousand lives, displaced more than 650-thousand Malawians, destroyed the crops of two million farmers, and killed almost 1.5 million livestock. Banda says a G7 deal must begin with the payment of pledges to help countries like Malawi rebuild from climate disasters.

# And finally: A new study has found that brightly coloured plastics degrade into microplastics quicker than plain coloured ones. A study by researchers from the University of Cape Town and the University of Leicester shows that pigments like red, blue, and green accelerate plastic breakdown, potentially increasing environmental harm. These findings, based on both rooftop exposure and beach samples, suggest manufacturers should reconsider the use of certain colorants to mitigate microplastic pollution.

Stay tuned for more news………….