Climate Change

The EKC hypothesis believes that developing countries will find themselves facing a trade-off between pursuing economic growth and environmental sustainability. For South Africa, this hypothesis seems to hold, placing the country in a very difficult position given its economic circumstances. In this blog, we discuss how South Africa finds itself facing this EKC dilemma

Carbon emission calculations are increasingly important in assessing an organisation’s environmental footprint and formulating carbon emission reduction strategies. By calculating carbon emissions, organisations can play a pivotal role in creating a critical mass of efforts aimed at addressing the challenges posed by climate change on the continent. However, this process does not come without its challenges.

Quantifying financed emissions is a critical first step in building trust that financial institutions are integrating climate change concerns into their core business and that net zero pledges are being taken seriously.

In a previous blog post, I estimated the distribution of South African household carbon emissions by expenditure group and found that household emissions are unequally distributed, with the richest 10% of households emitting almost 4 times more than the national average. In this blog post, I dive deeper into these emissions to understand what drives these emissions patterns

In this blog, I show that carbon emissions are unequally distributed across South African households. Rich South Africans emit between 2 to 4 times the national average. I highlight several important implications: Rich South Africans need to reduce their carbon emissions drastically; an increase in emissions by poorer households should not be misconstrued as a failure to meet our climate goals; and, if all South Africans are to enjoy the consumption levels of rich South Africans, it is necessary to transition to a low-carbon economy.

For decades, climate change strategies have focused on demonstrating the reality and threat of a warming planet. Those concerned with climate change have assumed that scientific proof of the existence and danger of climate change would be sufficient to spur us into climate-conscious behaviour. This assumption was incomplete. Governments have historically focused on the economic or political factors behind climate change, neglecting the more psychological aspects of the issue. Incentives, beliefs, social norms and cognitive processes play important roles in understanding and influencing behaviour. Integrating these factors into public and economic policy is crucial in formulating an effective response to climate change. Pivoting on current climate change policy towards climate change marketing could help to accelerate urgent action.

In lieu of ‘day zero,’ the city of Cape Town implemented a number of water resource management measures in order to avoid a situation whereby the city would need to cut off their main water supply. While Cape Town may be the first major city in the world to potentially run out of water, water scarcity and water insecurity are issues experienced across South Africa and globally. Through this water crisis, Cape Town has managed to reduce their water demand by more than half. This article explores some of the most effective methods that were used to create more sustainable water usage and highlights some of the precautionary measures that other cities could potentially adopt and employ before a water crisis point is reached.

Despite South Africa’s efforts in transitioning to a green economy, measuring the success of the transition is hampered by lack of available indicators. While measuring the progress of green growth is not only an issue faced by South Africa, but globally, it is a critically important to enable an assessment of the impact of green policies. The transition towards a green economy is likely to provide growth opportunities, however, there may be trade-offs in terms of realising socio-economic priorities. Clear definitions, robust performance metrics, and adequate data to enable performance measurement are crucial for providing evidence of whether policies have been successful. This is particularly important for South Africa which continues to try and combat unemployment, poverty and equality while simultaneously trying to strive towards environmental sustainability.