SUSTAINABILITY - The African Mirror

Dec

23

2020

Ivory Coast opens first protected marine area

SUSTAINABILITY

IVORY Coast has initiated its first protected marine area to protect sharks and turtles from overfishing near the West African country's coastline. The marine conservation area, spanning more than 1,000 square miles (2590 square km) off the town of Grand-Bereby, is part of an effort to bring Ivory Coast's marine conservation efforts in line with U.N. targets, the government said. Larger than the commercial capital of Abidjan, the area is home to sea-bed creatures, coral reefs and tropical fish, and is an important nesting and foraging ground for turtles, including the vulnerable leatherback. The area will also "undoubtedly boost local…

Dec

22

2020

By The African Mirror

Rains give West African herders brief respite amid growing heat

SUSTAINABILITY

ALESSANDRA PRENTICE FARI Sow bent over to pick a green shoot from what is normally parched earth at this time of year, tearing its leaves to show their freshness. "Thank God, this year we have grass," the herder said on a livestock reserve in northern Senegal as plump cows munched the pasture behind him. Abundant rains soaked West Africa's Sahel region in recent months, causing catastrophic floods in some areas that raised concerns about the rising costs of extreme weather. But this year's downpours also created the thickest vegetation in years, satellite data show - a vital respite for Senegal's…

Dec

20

2020

By The African Mirror

Planet-warming emissions from buildings put climate goals at risk

SUSTAINABILITY

THIN LEI WIN PLANET-warming carbon dioxide emissions from buildings and construction are jeopardising global goals to keep devastating climate change at bay, a U.N.-backed coalition warned on Wednesday, after data showed they hit an all-time high in 2019. The use of coal, oil and natural gas for heating, lighting and cooking fuelled a rise in emissions from the operation of buildings to about 10 gigatons last year, including direct emissions and indirect emissions from power generation, the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) said. Another key factor is growing energy demand for cooling as air-conditioner ownership rises with worsening…

Dec

19

2020

By The African Mirror

Armed with proposals, young climate activists hunt decision-making power

SUSTAINABILITY

LAURIE GOERING UNABLE to hold large-scale street protests safely during this year's pandemic, young climate activists are using their energy to craft their own climate policies and battling for decision-making power to make them a reality. "We might not have the same attention as before... (but) we are going where the decisions are taken," said Marie-Claire Graf, a Swiss member of the U.N. climate body's youth constituency, during an online event on Thursday. Taking to the streets in 2019 was "crucial" to raise public awareness about climate threats, she said. Now, however, "we need young people to make the regulations,…

Dec

17

2020

By The African Mirror

Fresh wave of crop-ravaging locust swarms threaten E. African herders, farmers

SUSTAINABILITY

NITA BHALLA and MOHAMMED OMER A new generation of locust swarms is threatening to wipe out the livelihoods of farmers and herders across eastern Africa - deepening a food crisis in a region where 35 million people are already hungry, the United Nations warned on Wednesday. From January to August, massive desert locust swarms swept across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, ravaging crops and decimating pasture in the worst outbreak in decades. Governments, supported by U.N. agencies and international charities, responded with large-scale aerial and ground spraying of pesticides to destroy the swarms, which scientists have linked to climate change. But…

Dec

16

2020

By The African Mirror

Code red: UN calls for urgent shift to planet-friendly development

SUSTAINABILITY

MEGAN ROWLING UNDER huge pressure from COVID-19, climate change and natural destruction, warning lights for the planet and societies are "flashing red" - and now is the time to choose a safer, fairer path for human development, the United Nations said on Tuesday. "We are at an unprecedented moment in the history of humankind and in the history of our planet," it said in a report, urging efforts by governments, business and citizens to pursue a new kind of progress that protects the environment. "The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest harrowing consequence of imbalances writ large," said the Human Development Report…

Sep

30

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa tells Western envoys it needs financial support to shift from coal

SUSTAINABILITY

SOUTH Africa told visiting climate envoys from the United States, Britain, Germany and France that it needs major financial support to move away from coal, according to the environment department. South Africa is the world's 12th biggest carbon emitter, according to the Global Carbon Atlas, five places ahead of the United Kingdom, an economy eight times the size, emitting 479 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) in 2019. It is also by far Africa's largest emitter. This month, the government adopted a more ambitious emissions reduction target of 350-420 Mt CO2e per year by 2030, weeks before the…

Dec

13

2020

By The African Mirror

Climate primer: Why is everyone talking about ‘net zero’?

SUSTAINABILITY

As the Paris Agreement marks its fifth anniversary, a U.N-backed global campaign to slash climate-changing emissions has added new high-profile members to its ranks, including high-street fashion retailer Primark and consumer electronics giant Sony. The "Race to Zero", launched on World Environment Day in June, brings together businesses, cities and other organisations that aim by around mid-century to cut their planet-heating emissions to net zero - meaning they produce no more emissions than they can offset through measures such as planting trees. As a "Climate Ambition Summit" got underway on Saturday, the U.N. climate body said members of the Race to…

Dec

12

2020

By The African Mirror

Safe drinking water should mean safe collection too: how to reduce the risks

SUSTAINABILITY

GLOBALLY, millions of people don’t have access to water in their home. They collect water from shared water supply points or surface water sources and physically carry water containers back home for household use. DR JO-ANNE GEERE, Lecturer, School of Health Sciences, University of East Anglia The importance of accessing water that’s safe to drink and enough water for washing, cleaning and cooking is clear. But little attention has been given to the safety of water collection away from home, or to the health and safety of the people who typically do this work. It’s most often women and girls…

Sep

27

2021

By The African Mirror

Africa’s $16 trillion race to de-carbonise

SUSTAINABILITY

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD SOUTH Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco and Kenya are building clean energy economies that could rake in billions of dollars in investment over the next decade. All have ramped up investments in renewable energy infrastructure to decarbonise their industries and run their economies with clean fuel. Some smaller states have also set ambitious energy transition targets from fossils, such as Rwanda’s target of generating 60 per cent renewable energy by 2030. Data show there is a huge incentive to decarbonise. In June last year, finance giant, Goldman Sachs projected that spending for renewable power projects in 2021, will…