Solid Gold Podcasts #BeHeard Just Us and the Climate - Climate Justice Coalition

Just Us and the Climate - Climate Justice Coalition

Welcome to Just Us and the Climate – a podcast by South Africa’s Climate Justice Coalition.

Join us as we bring climate change back down to earth and show how it’s not only a crisis, but an opportunity to build a better, more just world.
Occasionally English South Africa Society & Culture · Non-Profit
26 Episodes
1 – 20

#026 Owning the Renewable Means of Production

Why social ownership of renewable energy is key. In this episode, Janet Cherry (Professor of Development Studies and renowned anti-Apartheid activist) speaks to us about the exciting work she has been doing on the social ownership of renewable energy. The episode host, Alex Lenferna, speaks to Janet about the team…
15 Apr 56 min

#025 Mpumalanga is not a Sacrifice Zone!

In this episode, Cleo, an organiser with the Climate Justice Coalition (CJC), sheds light on Mpumalanga's plight - a province ravaged by coal mining and pollution. Cleo goes into detail about its impacts on local communities which include respiratory issues among children, dirty and unsafe water, women being exploited for…
12 Mar 26 min

#024 Building Red-Green Alliances

How trade unions & climate justice activists can transform the world. In this podcast episode, we speak to Ruth Ntlokotse, the president of the South African Federation of Trade Unions and a new coordinator of the Climate Justice Coalition. We speak to her about the important role that trade unions…
7 Mar 57 min

#023 Karpowerships Are No Turkish Delight

Why is there massive opposition of Karpowerships within coastal towns of South Africa? The Green Connection and a Small-Scale Fisher talk about the risks of Karpowerships. Bringing about their advocacy actions and stories relating to their journey to oppose the power ships, along with sharing the myths and reality of…
31 Oct 2023 14 min

#022 The Public vs the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone - Part 2

Part 2: How this industrial development threatens rural communities livelihoods. In this episode, we delve into how this coal-fuelled industrial development threatens rural communities living in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province and the extent to which it is driving a corporate land grab in the region and the failings…
2 Oct 2023 54 min

#021 The public versus the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone - Part 1

Part 1: Why should we be concerned and how is it being challenged legally? In this episode, the first in a two-part series unpacking the significant dangers posed by the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ), host Robert Krause of Centre for Applied Legal Studies speaks to Lauren Liebenberg of Living…
15 Sep 2023 49 min

#020 The Heart of Coal Country

Telling the story of Mpumalanga's difficult energy transition. In this episode, we dive into one of the biggest questions surrounding South Africa’s energy and climate crisis - how do we ensure a just energy transition for the people of Mpumalanga? Mpumalanga is the province most heavily dependent on coal for…
25 Jul 2023 56 min

#018 Eco-socialism in our lifetimes

Learning from COSATU's radical vision of a just transition. In this episode, we speak to Lebogang Mulaisi, the labour market policy coordinator at the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and a commissioner on the Presidential Climate Change Coordinating Commission. Lebogang coordinates and implements COSATU's labour market policy and…
20 Mar 2023 47 min

#017 How climate change impacts our health

Defining climate change as a health issue. Health, as we understand it, should be considered central to climate change. Climate change will have profound impacts on people and public health. In this episode, we speak to guests who work at the intersection between coal, climate, energy, and health. We reflect…
16 Feb 2023 29 min

#016 Climate friendly budgeting: where do we start?

Can the national budget advance adaptation efforts and climate justice? The need to mitigate and adapt to the realities of the climate crisis in these and other sectors has become increasingly apparent. This episode will focus on the adaptation pillar of climate action. Climate change adaptation means anticipating the adverse…
7 Sep 2022 47 min

#015 The Climate Change Bill: A breakthrough for climate justice?

An analysis of the Climate Change Bill for activists. The tabling of the Climate Change Bill before parliament represents an important moment in tackling climate change, the most severe crisis facing the future of humanity and the planet. As impacts of the climate crisis are especially keenly felt by the…
3 Aug 2022 59 min

#014 The People Versus the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy

A people's tribunal putting the government on trial for its crimes Guests: Cleopatra Shezi (United Front) In this special episode of Just Us and the Climate, we take you to a live People's Tribunal, entitled the People of South Africa versus the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). We…
14 Jul 2022 41 min

#013 We cannot eat oil and gas

Seismic surveys on South Africa's east and west coasts Guests: Nonhle Mbuthuma (Amadiba Crisis Committee) Sinegugu Zukulu (Sustaining the Wild Coast) Wilmien Wicomb (Legal Resources Center) Christian Adams (Steenberg Cove Small Scale Fishers Community) Dr Mnqobi Ngubane and Moenieba Isaacs (Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies) Big corporations’ plans…
11 Mar 2022 59 min

#012 South Africa's R130 Billion Climate Finance Deal

Can climate finance unlock South Africa's just energy transition? Guests: Nina Callaghan (Centre for Sustainability Transitions) Dr Emily Tyler (Meridian Economics) In this episode, we dive into the details (or lack thereof) surrounding South Africa's major R130 billion climate finance deal announced at the COP 26 UN Climate Summit in…
23 Nov 2021 57 min

#011 The Full Costs of Mining

An exploration of how extractivism creates environmental, social and climate justice. Host: Robert.Krause (Researcher: Environmental Justice | Wits) Guests: Nomakhosazana Precious Nomnqa (Women Affected by Mining United in Action – WAMUA) Ramabina Mahapa (Land and Accountability Research Centre – LARC) Patrick Bond (Professor of Sociology, University of Johannesburg) The often…
15 Nov 2021 52 min

#10 Suffocated by the air we breathe: A Tale of Two Pandemics

Guests in this episode: James Irlam (PHASA) Thandile Chinyavanhu (Greenpeace Africa) Thomas Mnguni (groundWork) With three exciting and considered guests and hosted by SECTION27, this episode is in conversation about the impact of climate change on health, honing in on the consequences of poor quality air on population morbidity and…
24 May 2021 40 min

#09 Transforming Africa's Biggest Polluter | A Green New Eskom

With Mandy Rambharos (Eskom | Head of the Just Energy Transition Office) In this episode Mandy Rambharos, head of Eskom's Just Energy Transition office, speaks to Dr Alex Lenferna, the secretary of the Climate Justice Coalition and campaigner with 350Africa.org. The episode focuses on Eskom, the biggest polluter on the…
17 May 2021 53 min

#08 Struggles for the climate | Climate Policy in a Developmental State

Brenda Martin (Director: Careers Service at University of Cape Town) Just transitions have featured regularly in national-level conversations in South Africa around its energy transition plans and climate change policies and commitments. In this episode, with climate policy expert Brenda Martin we unpack “Climate Policy in a Developmental State” and…
24 Apr 2021 42 min

#07 Environmental Conflict: Cause and Effect

What happens when conflict arises from depleting natural resources? Thando Lukuko (Mansa advisory | Director) Rev. Oscar Siwali (SADRA | Director) This episode looks at the impacts of climate change policy decisions for frontline communities across southern Africa. We explore what climate science predicts for the region and what it…
16 Sep 2020 50 min
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