Tag: greenhouse gas (GHG)

While Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) mammoth energy requirements have been widely publicised, its water footprint receives far less attention. World Water Day, celebrated on 22 March 2025, provides an opportunity to highlight AI’s lesser-known environmental impact - its water usage.

The mechanisms created under the new Climate Change Act must be implemented in accordance with the principles set out in section 3 and with a view to achieve the Act's objectives set out in section 2. The Act imposes different duties on different categories of government stakeholders, including organs of state which are required to revise, amend, coordinate and harmonise their policies, laws, measures, programmes and decisions in order to ensure that the risks of climate change impacts and associated vulnerabilities are taken into consideration.

As the world’s second largest continent, the vast expanse Africa lends itself to remote operations, often hundreds of kilometres away from civilisation and the hub of infrastructure and supply such as energy. Industries like mining, minerals and metals often must contend with considerable energy loss or high transportation costs of diesel (for self-generation) due to these vast distances.

Business premises is one of the first places companies take stock of when assessing their electricity usage and the optimisation thereof. And rightly so, approximately 30% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and 70% of energy consumption are attributed to buildings. Moreover, it’s estimated that 30% of energy is wasted in buildings.

According to analysts, it is estimated that the number of active Internet of Things (IoT) devices globally will surpass 25.4 billion in 2030. It is an astronomical figure and paired with the digital transformation of the global economy, data generation will grow exponentially.

As recently as September, scientists were highlighting the imminent risk that, even at the current 1˚C level of global warming, at least five environmental ‘tipping points’ are likely to be passed – from the collapse of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets to a massive die-off of tropical coral reefs.

Can switching to renewable energy solve climate change? More than 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are now covered under targets set by countries and corporations, after COP26 last year, and more than 700 of the world’s largest corporations have set Net Zero targets.