Final Synthesis Report

This final synthesis report by the Centre for Environmental Rights provides strategic and technical guidance on managing sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from old solid fuel combustion plants in South Africa, specifically focusing on Eskom and Sasol facilities. The report utilizes a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to recommend minimum emission standards (MES) based on plant lifetime and economic viability, concluding that reducing SO2 emissions is technologically feasible and provides significant net societal benefits through improved public health and macroeconomic growth.

• The report identifies that 99.7% of SO2 emissions from solid fuel combustion installations larger than 50MW in South Africa are produced by Eskom and Sasol operations.
• SO2 emissions from Eskom facilities alone are estimated to cause external health costs of 1135 billion rand per year across various studies, with significant impacts on respiratory health, particularly in children, within the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) and Vaal Triangle Priority Area (VTAPA).
• The panel concludes that it is technologically and economically beneficial for all plants operating after 2030 to meet an MES of 1000 mg/Nm3 or lower, with most plants capable of meeting stricter limits of 250 mg/Nm3 or 500 mg/Nm3 depending on their remaining lifetime.
• A cost-benefit analysis suggests that the 'Maximum economic benefit' and 'Expedited retirement' scenarios offer the highest ratio of net savings to pollution control expenditure, with the latter reducing FGD installation costs by approximately 25% by retiring 3000MW of capacity at Duvha and Matla by 2030.
• Implementing a 'BAT on all plants' (Best Available Technology) scenario would require an upfront investment of R 606 billion and result in a 14.6% increase in electricity tariffs, but would reduce air pollution health costs by 92% compared to doing nothing.
• The 'do nothing' policy option is the least recommended, as it would result in projected health costs of R 129 billion per year by 2030 and a cumulative cost of R 1.87 trillion from 2030 to the end-of-life of the facilities.
• Retrofitting emission controls is projected to have positive first-order employment impacts, with the 'BAT on all plants' option creating an average of 23,000 construction jobs between 2025 and 2030.
• The manufacturing sector, particularly the Minerals-Energy Complex (MEC), would be most affected by tariff increases, with production costs rising between 4.99% and 14.3% depending on the regulatory scenario.
• The panel recommends a flexible regulation approach (Option 2) as the most economically favorable, allowing for differentiated MES based on plant lifetime, such as 1000 mg/Nm3 for plants with less than 5 years of remaining life.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2021). Final Synthesis Report. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Final-report_SO2Panel_submit.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Final Synthesis Report. 2021. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Final-report_SO2Panel_submit.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Final Synthesis Report |date=27 July 2021 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Final-report_SO2Panel_submit.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2021final, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Final Synthesis Report}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2021}, month = jul, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Final-report_SO2Panel_submit.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }