Life After Coal | Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle

Air pollution from coal on the Mpumalanga Highveld: The Constitutional #DeadlyAir #UmoyaObulalayo case

In June 2019, after many years of advocacy, groundWork, and the Vukani Environmental Movement, represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights, launched Constitutional litigation to request the court to declare that the poor ambient air quality in the Highveld Priority Area constitutes a violation of the right to an environment not harmful to health or well-being, and to order the government to promulgate regulations to enforce the Highveld Air Quality Management Plan (HPA AQMP).

• Media Release: Environmental groups take government to High Court over violation of Constitutional right to clean air (10 June 2019)
• Fact Sheet

Court Papers

• Notice of Motion
• Rule 16A Notice
• Founding Affidavit
• Confirmatory Affidavit of Promise Mabilo
• Confirmatory Affidavit of Thomas Mnguni
• Confirmatory Affidavit Dr Mike Holland Expert
• Amended Notice of Motion (Rule 53(4))
• Supplementary Founding Affidavit
• Confirmatory Affidavit of Timothy Lloyd
• Deadly Air Replying Affidavit Bobby Peek
• Deadly Air Replying Affidavit-Thomas Mnguni
• Supplementary Affidavit of Timothy Lloyd
• First and Second Respondents Respondents’ Heads of Argument for the Main Application (14 April 2021)
• First and Second Respondents Respondents’ Heads of Argument for David Boyd’s Amicus Curiae Application (14 April 2021)

Amicus Application: UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment

• Notice of Motion – UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment- David Boyd
• Amicus Admission Application Part 1
• Amicus Admission Application Part 2
• Amicus Admission Application Part 3
• Amicus Admission Application Part 4
• Amicus Admission Application Part 5
• Final Papers in the Amicus – Head of Argument (26 March 2021)
• Lawyers for Human Rights request to join Professor David Boyd as Amicus Curiae (2 July 2019)
• CER letter consenting to Professor David Boyd as Amicus Curiae (5 July 2019)
• First and Second Respondents Respondents’ Heads of Argument for David Boyd’s Amicus Curiae Application (14 April 2021)

Events that led to the #DeadlyAir court case

Reports

Before instituting litigation, the Life After Coal campaign, and its members, published various reports and wrote many letters to the Minister and the Department of Environmental Affairs. We even participated in a documentary film, The Bliss of Ignorance. Most recently, the previous Minister responded, on 9 May 2019, indicating that she believes that there are no compelling reasons to take further action and develop implementation regulations for the HPA AQMP. A few of these reports and letters are below.

The campaign also commissioned a number of different reports on:

• Air pollution from Eskom’s coal-fired power stations and the resultant health impacts:
  • Dr Michael Holland: Air pollution from coal power stations causes disease and kills thousands of South Africans every year, says UK expert (December 2017)
  • Dr Peter Orris: Review of Dr. Andrew Gray’s “Air quality impacts and health effects due to large stationary source emissions in and around South Africa’s Mpumalanga Highveld Priority Area (HPA)” (June 2019)
  • Dr Andy Gray: Air quality impacts and health effects due to large stationary source emissions in and around South Africa’s Mpumalanga Highveld Priority Area (June 2019)