Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 24 June 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# Air pollution has reportedly caused three-thousand-365 deaths of children under five years in South Africa in 2021, with ambient particulate matter from fossil fuel combustion being a major contributor. The State of Global Air report has indicated that 80-percent of these deaths occurred within 28 days of birth. In total, over 34-thousand deaths were linked to air pollution across all ages. Globally, air pollution caused 8.1-million deaths in 2021. UNICEF urges South Africa to enhance child-focused climate policies in its upcoming nationally determined contributions due in March 2025.

# Eskom will seek exemptions from Minimum Emissions Standards for five coal stations operating beyond 2030. Permission was granted by former Environment minister Barbara Creecy to operate Hendrina, Grootvlei, Arnot, Camden, and Kriel at current limits until 31 March 2030. Eskom must submit a decommissioning plan within 12-months. Additional exemption applications for other stations are also due within 60-days.

# And, more than a million people are under flood warnings in the upper US Midwest after days of heavy rain that forced evacuations and rescues in several states. The hardest hit have been Iowa and South Dakota, where some rivers are expected to reach record-high levels over the next few days. The heavy storms come as parts of the US continue to deal with a week-long heat wave with daily temperature records in some cities. Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of human-caused climate change.

Stay tuned for more news………….