GGH2605

May 2024

UNIVERSITY
EXAMINATIONS

DĂLJϮϬϮϰ

GGH2605

Environmental Politics

First Examiner: Mr LD Sibiya

Second Examiner: Mr B. Khanye

100 Marks
This document consists of five pages (including this page).

Submission date: May 2024 (Since this serves as the examination, NO

extension will be granted, nor will there be any supplementary examination.)

Instructions:
x Include the signed Honesty Declaration on the first page of your portfolio (Honesty
Declaration for 2024 May examination). The inclusion of the signed declaration
is compulsory.
x Each section of the portfolio must have appropriate headings and where necessary,
also sub-headings.
x Consult the student guidelines document to complete this portfolio.
x Your draft plan must be supported by in-text referencing (peer-reviewed academic
references) and a correctly structured reference list (containing only cited sources).
x You may include photographs or any other material in your portfolio; remember to
acknowledge all sources.
x Your portfolio MUST be typed a n d uploaded online as a s i n g l e PDF
document on the module submission site. The portfolio will be checked on Turnitin
for plagiarism.
x Acknowledge all your sources as the first step to avoid plagiarism. Do not collude
or plagiarise, as this will lead to your work receiving very low or even no marks.
x There is a sub-minimum requirement of 40% for this portfolio examination.

PLEASE TURN OVER

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Open Rubric
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May 2024
Portfolio Task

Climate change is one of the pressing global environmental issues which is also associated with
many contestations and geographical disparities. Since the inception of the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, national and local governments must situate their
development agendas within this global framework. The official mission statement of SDG 13 is to
"Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts". As a newly appointed environmental
management officer, you are required to explore and evaluate environmental policies aimed at
combating climate change in the local municipality of your choice.

The proposed structure for your portfolio is provided in the table below:

Honesty Declaration
Title Page
Table of Contents
1.1 Name the local municipality that will form the focus of your evaluation. From 15 marks
the three political ideologies that were discussed in learning unit 2
(conservatism, liberalism and socialism), critically analyse the one that mostly
resonates well with your chosen local municipality.
1.2 With specific reference to recent climate change conferences such as the 20 marks
Paris Agreement, consider explaining the concept of “Climate change” within
the context of the global south and the targets of SDG 13.
1.3 Describe environmental policies related to climate change that exist in your 20 marks
chosen local municipality and explain the processes that could have been
followed by the municipality in the development of these policies.
1.4 Using actual data/evidence from the chosen municipality, analyse the 20 marks
effectiveness/ineffectiveness of environmental policies related to climate
change in your chosen local municipality.
1.5 Speculate on the extent to which utilitarianism could have contributed to the 10 marks
development of climate change environmental policies in your chosen local
municipality
1.6 In your opinion, can environmental movements be useful in combating climate 10 marks
change within the context of the global south? Explain using examples.
Part E: References cited 5 marks
Part F: Annexures
Include photographs or any other additional material that will enhance your portfolio. Marks will
be considered for these within the context of the specific section above.
Remember annexures must not be submitted separately but must be included as part of your
single PDF portfolio.
Total marks: 100

TOTAL FOR PORTFOLIO: 100

PLEASE TURN OVER

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May 2024

Student guidelines to complete the

GGH2605 Portfolio
May/June Examination 2024
The most important aspect you need to take into consideration is that each student
portfolio will be different as they are based on an individual exploration of different
municipalities.

The total length of the body (1.1 to 1.6) of the portfolio should not exceed 10 typed
pages in 1.5 line spacing. In addition to the 10 typed pages, you would need to
include extra pages for the Declaration, Cover Page, Table of Contents, References,
and Annexures

Honesty Declaration

Title Page

Table of Contents

1.1 Name the local municipality that will form the focus of your evaluation. 15
From the 3 political ideologies that were discussed in learning unit 2 marks
(conservatism, liberalism, and socialism), critically analyse the one that
mostly resonates well with your chosen local municipality.

Guidelines to approach 1.1

x You should be able to write this section with your knowledge of the chosen
municipality.
x You could also go onto the official website of the local municipality and obtain the
information.
x You should use the insights from assignment 01 and learning unit 02 to remind
yourself about the 3 political ideologies.
x Should not exceed 1 and half-typed pages (1.5 line spacing)
x Remember to avoid plagiarism, you will have to read all references and re-write in
your OWN words. Remember to acknowledge your references used in the
reference list.
1.2 Work in specific reference to recent climate change conferences such as 20
the Paris Agreement, consider explaining the concept of ‘Climate marks
change’ within the context of the global south and the targets of SDG 13.

Guidelines to approach 1.2

x Consider highlighting the goals/objectives of the Paris Agreement and its
outcomes.
x Acknowledge differences in how climate change is conceptualised and
contextualised in the global south countries. Highlight the impacts, coping
strategies and perceptions towards climate change in the global south.
x Briefly summarise the targets of the SDG 13.
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May 2024
x Should not exceed 2-typed pages (1.5 line spacing)
x Remember to avoid plagiarism, you will have to read all references and re-write in
your OWN words. Remember to acknowledge your references used in the
reference list.
1.3 Describe environmental policies related to climate change that exist in 20
the chosen local municipality and explain the processes that could have marks
been followed by the municipality in the development of these policies.

Guidelines to approach 1.3

x You could get information from the municipality's official website or through an
arranged interview with one of the related municipal officials.
x Using the insights from the learning unit 05, assess if environmental policies in the
chosen municipality were influenced by the Polluter Pays Principle or a
Precautionary Principle.
x Consider highlighting the stakeholders/actors that could have been involved in the
development of these policies.
x Comment on different environmental instruments that are evident in the
environmental policies of the chosen municipality.
x Should not exceed 2-typed pages (1.5 line spacing)
x Remember to avoid plagiarism, you will have to read all references and re-write in
your OWN words. Remember to acknowledge your references used in the
reference list.
1.4 Using actual data/ evidence from the chosen municipality, analyse the 20
effectiveness/ineffectiveness of environmental policies related to climate marks
change in your chosen local municipality.

Guidelines to approach 1.4

x Include success stories or failures to analyse the effectiveness/ineffectiveness.
x You can provide statistical data to support your analysis.
x Should not exceed 2-typed pages (1.5 line spacing)
x Remember to avoid plagiarism, you will have to read all references and re-write in
your OWN words. Remember to acknowledge your references used in the
reference list.
1.5 Speculate on the extent to which utilitarianism could have contributed to 10
the development of climate change environmental policies in the chosen marks
local municipality

Guidelines to approach 1.5

x Using the insights gained from question 2 of your assignment 1, you should be
able to highlight the definition of utilitarianism and speculate on the extent to which
it could have contributed to the current state.
x You need to think critically about the concept of utilitarianism and what is currently
happening in the selected municipality.
x You should write this section in your own words.
x Should not exceed 1-typed page (1.5 line spacing)
x Remember to avoid plagiarism, you will have to read all references and re-write in
your OWN words. Remember to acknowledge your references used in the
reference list.

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May 2024
1.6 In your opinion, can environmental movements be useful in combating 10
climate change within the context of the global south? Explain using marks
examples.

Guidelines to approach 1.6

x You should be able to highlight the meaning, objectives, and effectiveness of
environmental movements.
x Using the insights from assignment 02, you should be able to comment on why
environmental movements fail to achieve their intended goals.
x Your answer should include realities and circumstances that exist in the global
south countries.
x Should not exceed 1-typed page (1.5 line spacing)
x Remember to avoid plagiarism, you will have to read all references and re-write in
your OWN words. Remember to acknowledge your references used in the
reference list.
References cited 5 marks

x In-text citations should correspond with the reference list.

Annexures

Include photographs or any other additional material to the portfolio. Note marks will be
considered for these within the context of the specific section above.

Remember annexures must not be submitted separately but must be included in the PDF
Portfolio.

Total Marks 100 Marks

© UNISA 2024

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