LIFE AFTER COAL RESPONSE TO RECENT STATEMENTS AROUND “CLEAN COAL”

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), writing on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign, challenges statements made by Minister Jeff Radebe regarding the viability of "clean coal" technologies. The CER asserts that "clean coal" is a misnomer and a myth, arguing that no technology can neutralize the environmental, health, and climate impacts of the entire coal cycle. The document advocates for a coal phase-out and a just transition to sustainable energy systems, citing declining coal employment and consumption in South Africa as evidence of an inevitable shift. It emphasizes that achieving the IPCC's 1.5 degree Celsius target requires drastic CO2 reductions, which necessitates moving away from coal toward socially-owned renewable energy projects.

• The term "clean coal" is described as a misnomer and a myth because no technology can eliminate the severe environmental, health, and climate change impacts associated with the full coal cycle, including mining, production, supply, and waste disposal.
• Emission reduction technologies used to comply with South African air pollution laws are criticized for increasing capital and operating costs and exacerbating external impacts compared to wind and solar power.
• Domestic indicators in South Africa suggest an inevitable phase-out of coal, with direct employment in coal mining dropping from approximately 89,000 in 2011/12 to 82,000 in 2017, and Eskom's coal consumption falling from 132.7 million tonnes in 2007/8 to 115.5 million tonnes in 2017/18.
• To meet the IPCC's global target of limiting temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced by nearly 45% by 2030 and reach almost zero by 2050.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2019). LIFE AFTER COAL RESPONSE TO RECENT STATEMENTS AROUND “CLEAN COAL”. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CER-Letter-to-Minister-of-Energy-1-3-2019.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. LIFE AFTER COAL RESPONSE TO RECENT STATEMENTS AROUND “CLEAN COAL”. 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CER-Letter-to-Minister-of-Energy-1-3-2019.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=LIFE AFTER COAL RESPONSE TO RECENT STATEMENTS AROUND “CLEAN COAL” |date=1 March 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CER-Letter-to-Minister-of-Energy-1-3-2019.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2019life, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{LIFE AFTER COAL RESPONSE TO RECENT STATEMENTS AROUND “CLEAN COAL”}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CER-Letter-to-Minister-of-Energy-1-3-2019.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }