New coal power plants not in tune with Paris Agreement
According to scientists, at present, the world is not tracking towards a Paris Agreement-compatible phase-out of coal. A paper published in Climate Analytics shows that current and planned coal-fired power plants globally will lead to a generation increase of 3% by 2030 compared to 2010 levels. “If the world follows these present trends, this will lead to cumulative emissions from coal-power generation more than three times larger than what would be compatible with the Paris Agreement by 2050,” said the paper, titled Global and regional coal phase-out requirements of the Paris Agreement: Insights from the
IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] Special Report on 1.5°C.
The 2018 IPCC report warns of catastrophic consequences to the world’s most vulnerable social and economic status as a result of extreme weather and ocean heating.—
can share concerns freely. So we want to encourage all of you to take the opportunity to speak with your management. If there are any issues, do not hesitate to reach out to ask for help,” Solomon reportedly said.
Salaries sort of bounce back
The average South African salary in nominal terms increased to R15 821 in February 2021, according to payments provider Bankservafrica takehome pay index. The index tracks payments through Bankservafrica’s payment system. In January, the average salary was R15 608. However, the conclusion comes off a smaller base of earners. The real increases for the average wages show that there were fewer workers in the system who were paid daily or weekly. The average fall in the monthly equivalent of daily wage earners was -10.6%, while monthly paid workers decreased by -2.8%. This resulted in a far lower share of daily paid workers in the system, the index shows. As a result, the value of real total take-home pay paid to all the employees in the system only increased by 0.2%. In real terms, the average take-home pay was R13 044. Still, in a glimmer of good news, the data indicates that this is the first positive increase in the overall total salaries paid since May 2020.