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Many citizens in countries now accept that there is a need to adapt to climate change and to invest in renewable resources. This paper contributes to the planning of energy development in South Africa. Currently, South Africa is faced with a crisis in energy security with 'load shedding' resulting in hours without power. Coal, a fossil fuel, is the main source for energy in South Africa with negative effects for the environment and human health. To provide security over the future supply of domestic energy, the technique of fracking on and offshore is being advanced as an alternative by government which has been granting exploratory fracking licences. A review of the literature at the nexus of fracking, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ecosystem services was undertaken from a triple risk lens (Prpich & Coulon 2018). The findings indicate that fracking operations may create a short-lived economic boom but there is substantive scholarly evidence on the immense long-term risks for both the environment and human health. The impact of land use changes through fracking and the risks of fracking operations for ecosystems, climate change and achieving the SDGs of Agenda 2030 are evident and form a 'self-reinforcing loop'. We conclude that if fracking is predominantly being perceived from a prism of its economic benefits, then economic value needs to be attached to all the services that are provided by ecosystems. Thus, we recommend that an ecosystem services assessment must precede the granting of fracking licences to evaluate whether fracking is a viable option. It is also suggested that compensatory justice, be included as a policy measure for rehabilitation of the land where fracking has already commenced. In conclusion, we assert that healthy, environmentally sustainable living conditions need to be provided for all citizens and investment is needed to support adequate renewable energy infrastructure, a pre-requisite for government's Just Energy Transformation (JET). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa exhibits one of the largest pro-girl gaps in education, yet the reasons behind this gap are poorly understood. This paper analyses South Africa's pro-girl gap in Grade 4 reading and Grade 5 mathematics achievement. I make use of Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analysis to decompose the observed gender gaps into their explained and unexplained components, separately by school socio-economic quintile. This approach allows me to present new evidence that part of the country's pro-girl gaps in reading and mathematics are due to girls progressing through the early grades faster than boys. I also find that South African girls score higher on the constructs aimed at tapping student attitudes toward reading (reading self-efficacy and enjoyment, and engagement in reading lessons), and that these differences contribute significantly to the pro-girl gap in PIRLS reading achievement. Interestingly, despite outperforming boys in the TIMSS mathematics assessment, South African girls do not display more positive attitudes toward mathematics. The results suggest much more needs to be done to understand the reasons behind boys' disadvantage in the early grades, since much of the pro-girl achievement gap in Grade 4 reading and Grade 5 mathematics can be attributed the pro-girl advantage in grade completion in earlier grades. • South African girls outperform boys in both PIRLS and TIMSS. • This is partly due to girls progressing faster through the early grades. • Girls also display more positive attitudes toward reading than boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]