A drought refers to a period of time when an area experiences lower-than-average precipitation. South Africa faces an increasing risk from drought due to climate change.

The main greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), produced by burning fossil fuels. South Africa is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases on the African continent.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a greenhouse gas (GHG), more commonly known as laughing gas. While N2O rarely makes headlines, it is a dangerous driver of climate change.

Farming is a thriving, robust and diverse sector in South Africa, consisting of both commercial and subsistence farms.

A carbon footprint is the number of greenhouse gases emitted through a person, business or even a country’s activities. These greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide and methane.

A carbon tax is a fee paid to the government by carbon dioxide (or carbon dioxide equivalent) emitters for every tonne of carbon emitted.

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound that presents as a gas in the Earth’s atmosphere. It consists of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.

Greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. This can be any gas that absorbs infrared radiation and contributes to the Earth’s warming or the greenhouse effect.

Since 2006, the amount of gas in the atmosphere has increased, according to NASA. The oil and gas industry has caused the majority of methane gas emissions since 2006, NASA says.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the process of drilling into the earth to inject rocks deep underground with water, chemicals or sand to reach oil or natural gas deposits.

Banking group FirstRand, which houses FNB and RMB, has joined Nedbank in withdrawing its support for coal-fired power projects.

In the lead up to COP26, regulators are likely to raise the pressure on pension funds to join the fight against climate change, Amundi Asset Management says in a new report.

Investors can no longer afford to ignore the threat of climate change. The window to position their portfolios accordingly “may be shrinking”, says BlackRock, the largest money manager in the world.

The South African government has plans to generate more electricity with natural gas.