Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 17 September 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# Wild Coast communities in the Eastern Cape told the Constitutional Court that Shell’s planned offshore seismic exploration threatens their cultural rights and ancestral connections to the sea. The communities and environmental groups are challenging a Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling that allows Shell to bring an application for seismic exploration. In their arguments, the communities flagged the lack of consultation and the potential contamination of the sea during seismic blasting. Judgment has been reserved.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency says the average rate at which oil and gas fields’ output declines over time has significantly accelerated globally. This is largely due to higher reliance on shale and deep offshore resources. The new IEA report states that the average global rates for annual post-peak decline are 5.6-percent for oil output and 6.8-percent for conventional natural gas. The IEA says without continued investment, the world would lose the equivalent of Brazil and Norway’s combined production from the global oil balance each year.

# And finally: Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dion George, says there have been significant developments toward the reduction of carbon emissions as part of South Africa’s Just Energy Transition. South Africa is among the top 15 largest emitters of carbon dioxide worldwide. George says the recently published draft National Greenhouse Gas Carbon Budget and Mitigation Plan Regulations will facilitate the country’s transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. He adds that another carbon emission reduction effort includes the stricter exemptions for Eskom power stations.

Stay tuned for more news………….