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

The letter argues that Sasol and Natref's court application to set aside air pollution regulations threatens public health and environmental rights, particularly in the Vaal Triangle and Highveld Priority Areas. The signatories contend that Sasol's high profitability makes its claims of prohibitive compliance costs immoral and that granting exemptions would set a dangerous precedent for other polluters, including Eskom.

• Sasol and Natref have filed a court application to set aside air pollution regulations, which the signatories argue would have "incalculable negative consequences for South Africa’s environment, air quality and the health of our people."
• The operations of Sasol and Natref are located within the Highveld Priority Area and the Vaal Triangle Airshed Priority Area, where air quality frequently exceeds national standards and the companies' emissions are a "significant cause of this poor air quality".
• The signatories highlight a contradiction between Sasol's financial success and its refusal to comply with laws, noting that for the year ended June 2014, Sasol's operating profit rose 7% to R41.7 billion and headline earnings per share reached a record R60.16.
• If the court application by Sasol and Natref succeeds, other polluting industries, specifically all of Eskom’s coal-fired power stations, may no longer be required to comply with air pollution standards scheduled for 1 April 2015.
• 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 rules in November 2013, yet failing to make the necessary investments to meet those standards 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} }