URGENT STEPS NEEDED TO ADDRESS AIR POLLUTION IN THE HIGHVELD PRIORTY AREA

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) has called on the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) to take urgent action against air pollution in the Highveld Priority Area (HPA). The letter criticizes the DEA's dismissal of health impact studies linking Eskom and Sasol emissions to thousands of deaths and respiratory illnesses. It further demands an end to 'rolling postponements' of minimum emission standards (MES), a response to the 'Broken Promises' report, and updates on the Highveld Priority Area Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) goals and its Mid-Term Review.

• Expert studies indicate that emissions from Eskom's coal-fired power stations (CFPSs) cause significant health burdens and economic costs. A report by Dr Mike Holland found 2,239 equivalent attributable deaths and an annual economic cost of approximately R33 billion, while 2014 research by Lauri Myllyvirta estimated 2,200 premature deaths per year, including 200 children, with a R30 billion annual cost.
• Internal Eskom health impact assessments from 2006 showed that existing stations caused 17 non-accidental mortalities and 661 respiratory hospital admissions annually. The study predicted that future emissions from new and return-to-service stations would increase these figures to 617 mortalities and 24,842 respiratory hospital admissions per year.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). URGENT STEPS NEEDED TO ADDRESS AIR POLLUTION IN THE HIGHVELD PRIORTY AREA. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CER-letter-to-DEA-DG_26-Feb-2018-Final.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. URGENT STEPS NEEDED TO ADDRESS AIR POLLUTION IN THE HIGHVELD PRIORTY AREA. 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CER-letter-to-DEA-DG_26-Feb-2018-Final.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=URGENT STEPS NEEDED TO ADDRESS AIR POLLUTION IN THE HIGHVELD PRIORTY AREA |date=26 February 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CER-letter-to-DEA-DG_26-Feb-2018-Final.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2018urgent, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{URGENT STEPS NEEDED TO ADDRESS AIR POLLUTION IN THE HIGHVELD PRIORTY AREA}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = feb, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CER-letter-to-DEA-DG_26-Feb-2018-Final.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }