INTRODUCTION OF THE LIFE AFTER COAL CAMPAIGN AND ENERGY ISSUES FOR PRIORITISATION

A letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights, on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign, to the South African Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, urging the prioritisation of a coal phase-out and a just transition to sustainable energy systems.

• The Life After Coal Campaign urges the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy to prioritise several energy-related actions to address climate change and the risks of coal-fired electricity. These priorities include finalising the Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity (IRP), removing barriers to renewable energy procurement, cancelling the Coal Baseload Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, and decommissioning specific coal plants including Grootvlei, Hendrina, and Komati.
• The campaign advocates for the cancellation of several specific coal-related projects, including the remaining units of Eskom’s Kusile coal-fired power station and the proposed 3,300MW coal-fired power plant within the South African Energy Metallurgical Special Economic Zone (EMSEZ). Additionally, they call for the reconsideration of 8,100MW of proposed gas power capacity in the draft IRP and the cessation of associated fracking and offshore gas exploration.
• The document cites significant financial risks associated with maintaining coal infrastructure. A March 2019 Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) report estimates that South Africa faces a transition risk exceeding $120 billion in present value terms between 2013 and 2035. Furthermore, modelling by the Energy Research Centre (ERC) suggests that the coal IPPs (Thabametsi and Khanyisa) would cost South Africa an additional R20 billion compared to a least-cost system, a figure the previous Minister of Energy estimated could be as high as R23 billion.
• The campaign argues that 'clean coal' is a myth and that no technology can neutralise the environmental and health impacts of the coal cycle. They point to domestic trends as evidence of an inevitable phase-out, noting that direct employment in coal mining fell from approximately 89,000 in 2011/12 to about 82,000 in 2017, and Eskom's coal consumption dropped from 132.7 million tonnes in 2007/8 to 115.5 million tonnes in 2017/18.
• To ensure a just transition, the campaign recommends incentivising small-scale distributed renewable energy through feed-in tariffs and increasing energy efficiency. This includes the implementation of the National Energy Efficiency Strategy and the roll-out of solar water heaters.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2019). INTRODUCTION OF THE LIFE AFTER COAL CAMPAIGN AND ENERGY ISSUES FOR PRIORITISATION. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Life-After-Coal-letter-to-Minister-Energy-and-MR_12-June-2019.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. INTRODUCTION OF THE LIFE AFTER COAL CAMPAIGN AND ENERGY ISSUES FOR PRIORITISATION. 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Life-After-Coal-letter-to-Minister-Energy-and-MR_12-June-2019.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=INTRODUCTION OF THE LIFE AFTER COAL CAMPAIGN AND ENERGY ISSUES FOR PRIORITISATION |date=12 June 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Life-After-Coal-letter-to-Minister-Energy-and-MR_12-June-2019.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2019introduction, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{INTRODUCTION OF THE LIFE AFTER COAL CAMPAIGN AND ENERGY ISSUES FOR PRIORITISATION}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2019}, month = jun, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Life-After-Coal-letter-to-Minister-Energy-and-MR_12-June-2019.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }