Climate Change

The wealthiest one per cent of the world produces twice as many carbon emissions as the poorest 50 per cent, according to the UN. Likewise, the wealthiest five per cent of people contributed 37 per cent of emissions growth between 1990 and 2015. Yet, according to the Germanwatch 2021 Climate Change Vulnerability Index, global warming affects developing countries the most.…

Every year, we pump over 35 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases into the air. These gases trap heat and raise the planet’s temperature. But, these gases are not all the same.

Some, such as methane, do far more damage to the environment and raise temperatures faster than CO2, for example. But, how can we easily measure this and show the …

One thousand years ago, what was the Earth’s weather like? The answer to that question is not as difficult as you might think. Older trees can provide an insight into this through their tree rings. Tree rings and climate change are directly related. Furthermore, scientists can now make predictions and offer warnings about our future through these same rings. But, …

Since the Stone Age, European deforestation has been happening on a small scale. As people in Europe slowly began to adopt agriculture from about 10,000 BC, the pace of deforestation increased. Clearing forest to make space for farmland remains common practice to this day.

Six thousand years ago, more than two-thirds of central and northern Europe was forested. Now, just …

Palm oil has been a key driver of deforestation in Southeast Asia since the 1970s. The oil is highly versatile with applications in food, pharmaceuticals, photographic film, perfume, and hair and beauty products. It is now the world’s most popular vegetable oil, accounting for one-third of global consumption. This has led countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, to bulldoze great …

The consequences of climate change in South Africa will be more severe than most places in the world. The African continent contributes the least greenhouse gas emissions, and yet, it is the most vulnerable to climate change.

Deforestation is a significant contributor to global warming in South Africa and elsewhere. It is responsible for about 10 per cent of all …

Copenhagen is marking the launch of the new South Africa Climate Action Plan for climate change. It shows its adverse effects on South Africa and its people, and the action plan has been developed in partnership with stakeholders from different sectors. It was adopted during COP24, the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

The plan sets out actions and interventions …

Since the 1970s, growing carbon dioxide emissions and resource depletion due to human activities have been raising concerns for global warming and climate change¹. The science behind this phenomenon and its human cause is ever more unequivocal for every IPCC publication². But this is not the first time there has been a great shift in the …