On 16 March, as guests of our co-hosts from the International Labour Research and Information Group (ILRIG), we presented a talk on climate issues as they may pertain to the labour movement at Community House, Salt River, in the Imam Haron Hall.

Eight years after we first wrote to UCT asking for divestment, the university council decided on 12 March to divest.

Following the September announcement by China’s Premier Xi Jinping that China would no longer finance new coal power abroad, we wondered about the implications of that announcement for the giant, very dirty 3GW coal-fired power plant proposed for the China-financed Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zo

When we started working on building a fossil fuel divestment movement here in South Africa, the global pool of capital that had committed to removing fossil fuels was less than $200 million.

Sasol recently set new targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, particularly, a 30% reduction by 2030 and "net zero" by 2050.

After eight long years of trying to persuade UCT to stop investments in fossil fuels, the University of Cape Town’s Panel on Responsible Investment (UPRI) has now published its recommendation on divestment – which is, that UCT should divest from all fossil fuel investments by 2030!

On Monday evening, we were hosted by Extinction Rebellion's group in the Cape Town South Peninsula. It was the first time we've done an event in person since the beginning of the pandemic, and it was really refreshing to be speaking to people in person again (outside, in a beautiful garden, well-distanced). Our deep thanks to the organisers and host

On Tuesday 11 May, UCT students protested to urge the UCT University Panel on Responsible Investment (UPRI) to make the strongest possible recommendations on fossil fuel divestment.

After years of putting pressure on the University of Cape Town to divest from climate-breaking fossil fuels, the university has at last formally launched its responsible investment panel (the University Panel on Responsible Investment, or UPRI) and approved a Responsible and Sustainable Investment Policy! The UPRI now has a formal website, here.

Our latest campaign is calling on SA’s leading asset managers to create truly fossil fuel-free SA investment funds.

The following was extracted from our 2020 closing newsletter. You can sign up for our newsletters straight to your inbox here.

Letters to the new Council in support of divestment have now been sent by:

• two groups of UCT academics and students, centred on the faculty of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, and Climate Systems Analysis Group (CSAG)

In support of groundWork's recent request "for a speedy and urgent investigation to arrest and put on trial those responsible for the murder of Mama Fikile Ntshangase", we are sending a follow-up letter to President Ramaphosa and Minister of Police Bheki Cele in support of groundWork and the Somkhele community.

We've been campaigning for UCT to stop investing in climate-breaking fossil fuels for seven years, while hundreds of global institutions have joined the movement. Over the past few months, many people and institutions have written to the new UCT Council in support of divestment.

Fossil Free South Africa and 350 Africa congratulate the City of eThekwini/Durban on becoming the second South African city to commit to phasing out investments in climate-breaking fossil fuels.

We have a significant opportunity for YOU to help progress our campaign asking UCT to start divesting its endowment fund from fossil fuels THIS YEAR, to start to foster a genuinely socially responsible investment industry in South Africa. 

We have always been clear that at the heart of our campaign to halt all investments in climate-breaking fossil fuels, is the pursuit to advance and protect human rights, not just financial capital. 

We're working to create investment funds that invest in a safer climate and secure future for our children.

This year we are launching an additional newsletter, Planet A Investment, for financial professionals.

Last week, we had a conversation amongst ourselves which went something like this: