Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 15 October 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# The Green Connection says it is pleased that the controversial Karpowership deal with South Africa is no longer proceeding. Earlier this year, Eskom pulled the plug on Karpowership, announcing that it would no longer reserve the transmission capacity initially set aside for the Turkish company. The deal, worth more than 200-billion-rand, would have seen Karpowership supplying one-thousand-220-megawatts of power. Green Connection’s Liziwe McDaid says they have been concerned about the environmental risks the floating power plants pose to marine ecosystems:

# The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment says it is tackling e-waste by enforcing legislative and regulatory measures to contribute to pollution reduction. To date, almost 68-thousand tons of e-waste has been diverted from landfills and recycled through extended producer responsibility schemes. The department says it is also strengthening enforcement action against electrical and electronic equipment producers that are not complying, including free riders. Thus far, 37 pre-compliance notices have been issued to EEE producers.

# And, only about one-third of Europe’s surface water is in good health or better. This is according to a report by the European Environment Agency, which outlines three challenges facing future European water management. These are protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems, achieving zero pollution ambition, and adapting to water scarcity, drought, and flood risks. Countries including Germany and the Netherlands have a high share of water bodies in poor health. The agency says solutions to the poor state of Europe’s water include reducing demand and restoring rivers and wetlands.

Stay tuned for more news………….