David Fig

David Fig

TNI Fellow

David Fig is a South African environmental sociologist, political economist, and activist. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, and specialises in questions of energy, the extractive industries, and corporate accountability. He chairs the board of Biowatch South Africa, which is concerned with food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture, and works closely with various environmental justice non-government organizations. Recent publications include work on the nuclear and shale gas industries, and the Biowatch legal battle with Monsanto.

Contact

davidfig [at] iafrica.com

 

Selected publications

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Recent content by David Fig

A Landmark Victory for Justice: Biowatch’s Battle with the South African State and Monsanto

May 2013
Corporate Economic & Ecological Crimes: , Food sovereignty:
Published by  Biowatch South Africa, this is a book about access to information, the right to know, and action in the public’s interest – a must-read for anyone campaigning for environmental or social justice.

Vagaries of the uranium market

July 2012
Energy Justice:
The global boom in uranium production, with its associated environmental and social costs, has stalled in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster

Fracking and the Democratic Deficit in South Africa

July 2012
When citizens are left out of debates confined to government and the business community, the only means of influencing policy is to petition, protest, or litigate, usually after the horse has bolted. Will fracking be the latest technology introduced without any public debate?

The Politics of Agrofuels and Mega-land and Water deals

June 2011
Water Grabbing:
The Procana Bioethanol project in Mozambique is a clear example of how agrofuel investments contribute rather than mitigate climate change, and are often accompanied by dispossession and impoverishment caused by landgrabbing.
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Agricultural Innovation: Sustaining what agriculture? For what European bio-economy?

February 2011
The Europe 2020 strategy's promotion of resource-efficient technologies and market incentives as the solution for sustainable agriculture is contradicted by experience where techno-fixes and market pressures have increased overall demand on resources.

Assumptions in the European Union biofuels policy: frictions with experiences in Germany, Brazil and Mozambique

July 2010
EU biofuels policy is based on the assumption that it will lead to greenhouse gas savings, energy security and rural development, however in-depth research in Germany, Brazil and Mozambique reveals fundamental contradictions between EU policy assumptions and practices in the real world.
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Agrofuel Crops

April 2010
In recent years, there has been renewed interest in developing agrofuels on a large scale as an alternative to fossil fuel. EU biofuels policy, in particular, assumes that the environmental impacts associated with agrofuels production will be largely beneficial. This study questions such optimistic assumptions.

Ten key questions on climate change

March 2010
Climate change is a political and scientific conundrum. From the denialism of the George Bush era to the neo-liberal imperatives of carbon trading, the subject is confusing, and an activist agenda is sometimes a navigational minefield.

Darkness and light – the electricity crisis in South Africa

June 2008
At a time of serious energy mismanagement, and with the Cabinet approving a nuclear policy without any independent evaluation of the state company Eskom’s proposals, South Africans need to question the orthodoxy that only coal and uranium can deliver the requisite power needs of the country. Paper presented at the Basker Vashee Memorial Lecture, de balie, Amsterdam, 24 June 2008 I met Basker Vashee when I worked with TNI in the 1970s, and it is a great privilege to be honouring his memory here tonight.