Government’s move to appeal parts of High Court win risks delaying action on air pollution
12 April 2022 at 9:21 pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14 April 2022
Environmental justice groups behind recent landmark High Court victory in #DeadlyAir case are disappointed to learn of Minister Creecy’s decision to appeal parts of the judgment. The Minister’s decision to apply for leave to appeal risks further delaying concrete action being taken to reduce harmful air pollution on the Mpumalanga Highveld.
Environmental justice group groundWork and Mpumalanga community organisation Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action (Vukani), represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), note with disappointment Minister for the Environment, Barbara Creecy’s decision to apply for leave to appeal some parts of the #DeadlyAir judgment.
The judgment, handed down on 18 March 2022 in the Pretoria High Court, was a resounding victory for environmental justice in South Africa. In the judgment, Judge Colleen Collis recognised the poor air quality in South Africa’s Mpumalanga Highveld region as a breach of residents’ Constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being. The judgment also directed government to prepare and implement regulations to reduce air pollution – according to section 20 of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (AQA) – within 12 months of the order.
Minister Creecy is not appealing the first part of the order that relates to the immediate realisation of Section 24 of the Constitution, but rather those that relate to the interpretation of Section 20 of the AQA. Importantly, the declaration of residents’ guaranteed right to a healthy environment still stands and groundWork and Vukani will proceed to take action on this basis through their various community-based activities.
“The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment’s (DFFE) decision to appeal parts of this judgment risks further delaying any meaningful action being taken to lift the burden of air pollution which residents of the Mpumalanga Highveld experience every day. These are measures that are way overdue, considering that government first recognised this area as an air pollution hotspot 18 years ago,” says groundWork director Bobby Peek.
A significant portion of Mpumalanga Highveld region was declared a High Priority Area in 2004. Since then repeated studies – and the recent High Court judgment – found that air pollution in the area is responsible for premature deaths, decreased lung function, deterioration of the lungs and heart, and the development of diseases such as asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, tuberculosis and cancer, and that these ongoing harms particularly affect the lives of the elderly and children.
Regarding next steps, CER Deputy Director Wandisa Phama said: “We will wait for a hearing date for this application for leave to appeal. At this time all parties will be able to make arguments before Justice Collis and she will then decide whether another court could reasonably come to a different conclusion, or if there are other compelling reasons in the interests of justice for the disputed parts of the decision to be reconsidered.”
Read more about the background and chronology of the #DeadlyAir case, the landmark 18 March High Court judgement, expert analysis finding Eskom to be the world’s worst polluting power company, the health impacts of air pollution on the Mpumalanga Highveld HPA and the history of the area as a High Priority Area.
END
