Peer Review of the Climate Change Study for the Proposed Thabametsi Coal Fired Power Station

The peer review concludes that the Greenhouse Gas Assessment (GGA) and Climate Resilience Assessment (CRA) are comprehensive and follow international best practices, though it identifies gaps in the quantification of the Social Cost of Carbon and questions the overall project impact rating. While the project's GHG emissions are rated as 'VERY LARGE' and water scarcity risks as 'HIGH', the reviewer notes that the project's justification relies on existing South African energy policy, which remains a point of contention.

• The Greenhouse Gas Assessment (GGA) is considered comprehensive and aligned with international guidelines, though it failed to quantify the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) due to uncertainty, despite the high importance of this issue to interested and affected parties.
• The projected emission intensity for the Thabametsi power station is 1.02 kg CO2/kWh, which the reviewer describes as 'relatively high' compared to the IEA lower threshold of 0.88 kg CO2/kWh.
• The reviewer suggests that the overall significance rating for GHG emissions should be elevated from 'HIGH (NEGATIVE)' to 'VERY HIGH (NEGATIVE)' because the emissions are 'VERY LARGE', the probability is high, and mitigation opportunities are limited.
• The Climate Resilience Assessment (CRA) identifies water scarcity as a primary risk, noting that the Lephalale area is vulnerable to drought, with projections indicating an increase in dry spells and drought from March to August.
• Post-mitigation, three risks related to water scarcity retain a 'HIGH' significance rating because there is 'limited site level control over the broader water risk context'.

APA

Carter, A. (2017). Peer Review of the Climate Change Study for the Proposed Thabametsi Coal Fired Power Station. Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Final-Peer-Review-Thabametsi-Power-Station-CCIA-14-Dec-2017.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Carter, Alan. Peer Review of the Climate Change Study for the Proposed Thabametsi Coal Fired Power Station. Centre for Environmental Rights, 2017. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Final-Peer-Review-Thabametsi-Power-Station-CCIA-14-Dec-2017.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Carter |first1=Alan |title=Peer Review of the Climate Change Study for the Proposed Thabametsi Coal Fired Power Station |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=December 2017 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Final-Peer-Review-Thabametsi-Power-Station-CCIA-14-Dec-2017.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carter2017peer, author = {Carter, Alan}, title = {{Peer Review of the Climate Change Study for the Proposed Thabametsi Coal Fired Power Station}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2017}, month = dec, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Final-Peer-Review-Thabametsi-Power-Station-CCIA-14-Dec-2017.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }