climate change Archives - Voice of the Cape

Experts sound alarm over Cape Town’s wildfire vulnerability

By Rachel Mohamed Experts have raised concerns that Cape Town may experience devastating wildfires similar to those seen in Los Angeles, due to its comparable climate, mountainous terrain, and vegetation. The city’s Fire and Rescue Service reported over 7,000 fires to date in the 2023/2024 financial year, emphasizing the ongoing risks. The potential danger is highlighted by past tragedies, such as the 2017 Knysna fires, which claimed the lives of […]

24 January 2025

International News

Global leaders tackle climate policy at COP29 amid Trump’s return concerns

The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP29, is being held in Azerbaijan, bringing together global leaders, climate analysts, and non-profit organisations to chart future climate policy. (South African Faith Communities Environmental Institute) SAFCEI Director, Francesca de Gasparis expressed concern over the recent election of Donald Trump, noting his climate change denial and the potential impact on negotiations. “The expert presenting to us immediately raised the issue of the […]

14 November 2024

Local

Organisations host protest action at the CTCCC ahead of Africa oil week

By Loushe Jordaan Gilbert Members of Extinction Rebellion and the Green Connection are set to host a peaceful protest outside of the Cape Town International Convention Centre Cape Town (CTCCC) ahead of Africa Oil Week on Tuesday morning. Speaking on VOC Breakfast on Monday morning, Jacqui Tooke Extinction Rebellion spokesperson said staging this protest is important as South Africa is on the brim of facing a climate collapse. “We are […]

7 October 2024

Local

Climate change bill signed into law, paving way for comprehensive climate action

By Lee-Yandra Paulsen "We are not only dealing with a climate change catastrophe; we are also addressing significant biodiversity issues. Having the Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, Dion George involved in this work and wielding such power aligns our actions toward reducing biodiversity loss while combating climate change." This is according to Jacqueline Rukanda, Programme Manager of the Affirming Rights Programme at Natural Justice, on […]

24 July 2024

Local

Environmental Activists Rally Against Oil and Gas Industry at CTICC

By Lee-Yandra Paulsen Environmental justice organizations gathered outside the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) to protest the Southern African oil and gas conference on Wednesday, 13 September 2023. Their aim was to demand climate justice and resist the influence of oil and gas corporations. People of all ages joined the protest to express their concerns for the environment. Jacqui Tooke from Extinction Rebellion Cape Town emphasized the need to […]

13 September 2023

International

Historic ‘loss and damage’ fund adopted at COP27 climate summit

INTERNATIONAL Countries at the United Nations COP27 climate summit in Egypt have adopted a final agreement that establishes a fund to help poor nations cope with the extreme weather events caused by global warming. Following tense negotiations that ran through the night, the summit’s Egyptian presidency released a draft text of the overall agreement early on Sunday and also called a plenary session to push the document through as the final, overarching agreement for […]

20 November 2022

International

Egypt: How ‘smart crops’ are used to mitigate effects of climate change

INTERNATIONAL The past few years have been especially daunting for Abul Mahasen Mohamed, a farmer from the Nile Delta province of Menoufiya. High temperatures, water scarcity and rising salinity in the soil deprived him and fellow farmers of sizeable crop yields. "Some people sustained huge losses," Mohamed told Middle East Eye. "Extreme heat burned some crops and devastated some farms." This year, Mohamed is growing a new maize variety that […]

3 September 2022

International

Greenland already locked in to huge sea level rise: Study

INTERNATIONAL Greenland’s fast-melting ice sheet will cause a huge sea level rise with potentially ominous implications over this century as temperatures continue to rise, according to a study published on Monday. Melting “zombie” ice from the enormous Greenland ice sheet will eventually raise the global sea level by at least 27 centimetres (10 inches) just on its own. “Zombie”, or doomed ice is still attached to thicker areas of the sheet but […]

30 August 2022

Local

Climate change doubles chance of repeat killer floods, say global experts

The floods that devastated parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape in April, killing 435 people, were definitely linked to climate change and can be expected every 20 years. The interval predicted by World Weather Attribution, a group of climate scientists, meteorologists and disaster experts, is half what they said it would be without climate change. The experts said the two-day storm that caused the floods was the latest evidence that […]

14 May 2022

climate change

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