Browsing by Author "Young, Michaela"
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- ItemOpen AccessBiodiversity offsets: towards an effective legal framework in South Africa(2015) Midgley, Danjelle; Young, MichaelaSouth Africa is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world. This biodiversity is under threat from economic, social and climate change pressures. One mechanism that could be added to South Africa's conservation tools, is that of the biodiversity offset where certain activities are designed to compensate for unavoidable harm to biodiversity resulting from development. The concept and theory of offsetting is controversial however, and not all commentators are in favour of encouraging a formal biodiversity offsetting regime in South Africa. This dissertation will explore the concept of biodiversity offsets in the regulatory permitting context and the controversies implicit in their theory and implementation. A framework for their inclusion in South Africa's environmental permitting context will be suggested.
- ItemOpen AccessThe development of Namibia's renewable energy regime(2015) Heita, Natalia Ndatilohamba; Glazewski, Jan; Young, MichaelaAs is the case with many countries, Namibia has an economy dependent on fossil fuels. The country is, however, blessed with abundant and diverse - but as yet unexploited - renewable energy (RE) resources that could be used for improving the livelihood of the vast majority of its 2.2 million people. Today the conflict between energy production from fossil fuels and protection of the environment is intensifying and this compels all countries to search for means of resolving this conflict. Developing RE through the enactment of enabling legislation and implementation of relevant policy is one important step towards attaining the ideal of an energy-secure future. This state of affairs is not unique to Namibia, as most countries with abundant RE sources are striving to promote and deploy RE in their respective regimes through appropriate policies and legal frameworks. This study examines Germany and Ghana from, respectively, the developed and developing world, as leading countries that have established a proactive RE regime. However, such a regime can only be successfully achieved if countries, including Namibia, adopt laws and policies that promote and encourage the use of RE in order to move away from fossil fuel dependence to a greener economy. Thus the study seeks to investigate RE resources in Namibia and their potential development. It outlines the current legislation pertaining to the regulation of RE in Namibia. As such, the study further examines the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines and draws examples from other regimes, particularly Germany and Ghana, in order to provide a guideline for the enactment of a general Energy Act with a particular chapter on RE. It concludes with recommendations as to how Namibia can secure a sustainable energy future.
- ItemOpen AccessLiberalising trade in climate-friendly goods under the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(2015) Ferreira, Clarissa; Young, MichaelaClimate change implications have infiltrated all sectors of society and the world can no longer adopt a 'business as usual' attitude. The unprecedented nature of these implications renders it difficult to address in a swift manner the challenges that arise. Anthropogenic GHG emissions are largely responsible for climate change and fossil fuel-based energy uses are considered to be the biggest contributor to these emissions. The need to reduce the rate of these emissions is an uncontested issue. It has been suggested that one of the options would be to scale up sustainable energy sources through a shift to cleaner and low-carbon transport fuels and technologies. This shift to cleaner energy resources could be achieved in numerous different manners; however, this dissertation will consider how a Sustainable Energy Trade Agreement could contribute to this shift as one option amongst among a myriad of other steps that need to be taken to mitigate climate change. This dissertation considers how the liberalisation of trade in CFGs can assist in this shift to cleaner energy resources. As is illustrated the process of liberalising trade in CFGs has been hindered by several issues. A proposal has emerged for a Sustainable Energy Trade Agreement that could render assistance to the issues that arise with the liberalisation of CFGs as well as expedite the liberalisation process. The ultimate question that this dissertation seeks to address is whether a SETA-type agreement entered into by certain WTO Members would be compatible under the GATT.