Open letter to Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa on talks with Sasol

An open letter from 11 civil society and community organisations to South Africa's Minister of Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, urging the government to reject requests for exemptions from air pollution standards by Sasol and the National Petroleum Refiners of SA (Natref).

• Sasol and the National Petroleum Refiners of SA (Natref) initiated a court application in May 2014 to set aside air pollution regulations for big industry after previously applying for exemptions and postponements regarding minimum emission standards under the Air Quality Act.
• The signatories argue that if Sasol and Natref succeed in their legal challenge, other polluting industries, including all of Eskom’s coal-fired power stations, would no longer be required to comply with air pollution standards scheduled for implementation on 1 April 2015.
• Sasol and Natref operate within the Highveld Priority Area and the Vaal Triangle Airshed Priority Area, where air quality frequently exceeds South African ambient standards; the signatories identify these companies' emissions as a significant cause of this poor air quality.
• Despite Sasol's high profitability—with headline earnings per share increasing 14% to R60.16 and operating profit rising 7% to R41.7 billion for the year ended June 2014—the company has argued that the costs of legal compliance outweigh the benefits.
• The letter alleges that Sasol acted in bad faith by participating in the multi-stakeholder process to determine emission standards and lobbying for more lenient standards in November 2013, yet failed to make the necessary investments to comply by April 2015.

APA

Melissa (2014). Open letter to Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa on talks with Sasol. Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/news/open-letter-to-environmental-affairs-minister-edna-molewa-on-talks-with-sasol

Chicago

Melissa. Open letter to Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa on talks with Sasol. Centre for Environmental Rights, 2014. https://cer.org.za/news/open-letter-to-environmental-affairs-minister-edna-molewa-on-talks-with-sasol.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Melissa |title=Open letter to Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa on talks with Sasol |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=7 October 2014 |url=https://cer.org.za/news/open-letter-to-environmental-affairs-minister-edna-molewa-on-talks-with-sasol |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{melissa2014open, author = {Melissa}, title = {{Open letter to Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa on talks with Sasol}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2014}, month = oct, url = {https://cer.org.za/news/open-letter-to-environmental-affairs-minister-edna-molewa-on-talks-with-sasol}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }