The Department of Environment, Fisheries, and Forestry Minister Barbara Creecy has filed an affidavit with the court, following the ruling of the Air Quality Control Act which is against air pollution caused by Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and Sasol Ltd.
The case was filed in 2019 by groundWork, an environmental-rights organisation, and Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action was seen as a key test of the government’s settle the agreement with some of the world’s worst air pollution. The 12 sites of coal-fired Eskom power plants are located in the Highveld Priority Area, which includes much of northeastern Mpumalanga province and part of the central Gauteng region.According to a study by Greenpeace, Mpumalanga contained the worst nitrogen-dioxide emissions from power plants globally. Sasol and Eskom emit half of South Africa’s greenhouse gases.
Global Carbon Atlas reported that South Africa ranks 13th place as the biggest climate-warming emissions. Eskom produces over 80 % of South Africa’s power from coal-fired plants. The plants emit sulfur dioxide, mercury, and fine particles that reportedly cause illnesses differentiating from asthma to lung cancer while contributing to birth defects, heart attacks, and strokes.
