IMPLICATIONS OF THE JUDGMENT IN EARTHLIFE AFRICA JOHANNESBURG V MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND OTHERS CASE NO 65662/16

The Centre for Environmental Rights informs the South African Department of Environmental Affairs that a court ruling now requires climate change impact assessments (CCIA) as part of environmental impact assessments (EIA) for coal-fired power stations. The document outlines the minimum requirements for a CCIA, warns that existing authorizations without such assessments may be legally vulnerable, and urges the Department to establish formal guidelines for conducting these assessments.

• The North Gauteng High Court ruled that a climate change impact assessment (CCIA) is a required component of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Thabametsi power station, confirming that climate change impacts are relevant factors under section 24O of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (NEMA).
• According to the judgment, a CCIA must at minimum quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across construction, operation, and decommissioning, evaluate the power station's resilience to climate change (including rising temperatures and water supply issues), and identify ways to avoid, mitigate, or remedy these impacts.
• The legal implications of the judgment extend to all future proposed coal-fired power stations, including those within the Coal Baseload Independent Power Producers Programme (CBIPPPP), and any other activities with potentially significant climate change impacts.
• The Centre for Environmental Rights asserts that projects already authorized but not yet commenced that lacked a CCIA may be in breach of the NEMA duty of care and the environmental right in section 24 of the Constitution, making them susceptible to legal challenges.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2017). IMPLICATIONS OF THE JUDGMENT IN EARTHLIFE AFRICA JOHANNESBURG V MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND OTHERS CASE NO 65662/16. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter-to-DEA-13-April-2017.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. IMPLICATIONS OF THE JUDGMENT IN EARTHLIFE AFRICA JOHANNESBURG V MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND OTHERS CASE NO 65662/16. 2017. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter-to-DEA-13-April-2017.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=IMPLICATIONS OF THE JUDGMENT IN EARTHLIFE AFRICA JOHANNESBURG V MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND OTHERS CASE NO 65662/16 |date=13 April 2017 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter-to-DEA-13-April-2017.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2017implications, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{IMPLICATIONS OF THE JUDGMENT IN EARTHLIFE AFRICA JOHANNESBURG V MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND OTHERS CASE NO 65662/16}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CER-letter-to-DEA-13-April-2017.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }