Life After Coal | Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle

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

A key aim of The Life After Coal campaign is to reduce polluting emissions from existing coal infrastructure and encourage a coal phase-out. An essential part of this campaign is to highlight the way in which the pollution from coal and other industries is affecting the health of ordinary people, particularly those living in Mpumalanga and Gauteng.

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
• Impact Assessment Implementation Regulations

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Court Papers

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.

• Coal Kills: Research and Dialogue for a Just Transition (September 2018)
• Broken Promises: The failure of South Africa’s priority areas for air pollution (October 2017): Media Release: Highveld communities take a stand against pollution from Eskom power stations and Infographic
• Destruction of the Highveld: Burning Coal (2017)
• Destruction of the Highveld: Digging Coal (2016)
• Slow Poison: Air Pollution, Public Health and Failing Governance (June 2014)

Need for regulations to enforce the Highveld Priority Area Air Quality Management Plan

• Minister Mokonyane’s response to the CER regarding the regulations for implementing and enforcing the HPA Air Quality Management Plan 2012  (dated 30 April 2019 but sent 9 May 2019)
• CER letter to Minister Mokonyane regarding the regulations for implementing and enforcing the HPA Air Quality Management Plan (dated 10 December 2018)

Urgent steps needed to reduce the air pollution in the Highveld Priority Area

• Correspondence to the DEA requesting urgent steps be taken to address air pollution in the HPA (26 February 2018)

Implementation of the Highveld Priority Area Air Quality Management Plan

• CER letter to DEA regarding the outcomes of the meeting with NGOs on the implementation of the Highveld Priority Area on 12 December 2017  (19 January 2018)
• CER preliminary comments on the mid-term review (23 March 2017), with Annexure 1
• CER letter to DEA regarding Management of the MSRG and ITT meetings in Priority Areas (22 August 2014)

Need for effective dust control regulations

• CER submissions on the proposed amendments to the Dust Control Regulations (5 February 2013)
• CER submissions to the Minister requesting the strengthening of the Dust Control Regulations  (16 October 2015)
• CER’s follow-up letter to the Minister of Environmental Affairs (26 October 2016)
• CER submissions on the proposed amendments to the Dust Control Regulations (30 November 2017)
• CER submissions on the proposed amendments to the Dust Control Regulations (25 June 2018)

Need for an effective strategy to reduce air pollution in households

• CER letter to the Director General, Department of Environmental Affairs, calling for the publication, for comment, of the Draft Strategy to Address Air Pollution in Dense Low Income Settlements (7 April 2015)
• LAC Comments on the Draft Strategy to Address Air Pollution in Dense Low-Income Settlements (29 August 2016)
• Draft Strategy to Address Air Pollution in Dense Low-Income Settlements

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Presentations and letters to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs:

• groundWork: Key informants in the HPA (14 November 2018)
• Dr Diane Gray, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, University of Cape Town: Pollution and Child Health (14 November 2018)
  
• James Irlam, Public Health Association of South Africa: Climate, Energy & Health (14 November 2018)
• Centre for Environmental Rights: Air quality governance failures (14 November 2018)
  
• Prof Eugene Cairncross: Status of compliance with Minimum Emission Standards (6 February 2018)
• Centre for Environmental Rights: Status of compliance with Minimum Emission Standards (6 February 2018)
• Prof Eugene Cairncross: Implementation of Minimum Emission Standards (7 November 2017)
• Centre for Environmental Rights: Enforcing compliance with Minimum Emission Standards in Priority Areas (7 November 2017)
• Prof Eugene Cairncross: Report to the PCEA Workshop on the MES, with particular reference to Eskom’s compliance history since the MES came into effect (1 April 2015) (7-8 November 2017)
• groundWork: Social and economic aspects of Minimum Emission Standards (MES) in Air Quality Priority Areas and perspectives on full compliance with MES
• Centre for Environmental Rights: Holding polluters to account: What needs to happen to improve air quality in priority areas? (13 September 2017)
• groundWork: Human exposure and health effects of air pollution in priority areas
• CER letter to Portfolio Committee on behalf of groundWork and Highveld Environmental Justice Network (12 June 2017)
• Prof Eugene Cairncross: The state of South Africa’s air quality monitoring network, and its air quality

The campaign also commissioned a number of different reports on:

• Air pollution from Eskom’s coal-fired power stations and the resultant health impacts:
  • Lauri Myllyvirta: Health impacts of Eskom’s applications (2014)
  • 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)
• Eskom’s exceedances if its relaxed atmospheric emission limits at its coal-fired power stations:
  • Prof Eugene Cairncross: Compliance Assessment of Eskom Coal-Fired Power Stations (19 May 2017)
  • Dr Ranajit Sahu: Eskom Exceedances Report (22 March 2019)

The campaign also wrote to the Minister of Health about the health impacts caused by air pollution:

• LAC letter the Minister of Health regarding the WHO’s first global conference on air pollution and health (20 August 2018)

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Defending and enforcing the Minimum Emission Standards

Eskom has now applied four times since 2014 to postpone and/or suspend compliance with the Minimum Emission Standards (MES) published under the Air Quality Act. Eskom’s current application is for suspension of MES compliance at 5 of its coal-fired power stations that will be decommissioned before 31 March 2030 and once-off postponement of compliance at 6 other coal-fired power stations. 10 of these coal-fired power stations are located in the Highveld Priority Area.

The Life After Coal Campaign’s opposition to Eskom’s most recent attempt to evade and delay MES compliance, which is currently under consideration by the National Air Quality Officer, in consultation with local authorities in the Highveld Priority Area and Vaal Airshed Priority Area:

• Media release: Eskom’s latest attempt to avoid pollution standards met with vigorous opposition (6 February 2019)
• Comment on Eskom’s Background Information Document (11 September 2018)
• Submission on Eskom’s application for suspension, alternative limits and/or postponement of compliance with the MES for 10 of its coal fired power stations (4 February 2019)
  • Annexure 1: Dr Ranajit Sahu – “Comments on the series of Applications for Suspension of the MES Compliance Timeframes for Various Eskom Coal Fired Power Stations” (4 February 2019)
  • Annexure 2: Dr. Ranajit Sahu – Assessment of Eskom Power Station Exceedances of Applicable Atmospheric Emission License (AEL) Limit Values for PM, SOx & NOx During April 2016 to December 2017 (15 November 2018)
  • Annexure 3: groundwork, “Government: Wheels come off the Eskom offset” (14 August 2018)
  • CER letter to Minister Creecy_Eskom MES Exemptions_3 November 2020
  • Minister Creecy Response_12 March 2021

Other media pieces:

• Media Release: Another five years of toxic pollution by Eskom (24 February 2015)
• Environmental Rights Blog: Breathing space for polluters at the expense of public health (5 March 2015)

This page is a living document, and we will continue to add updated information.