IMPACT REPORT 2009–2023

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) is a South African public interest law organisation that uses litigation and advocacy to defend the constitutional right to a healthy environment. Between 2009 and 2023, CER achieved landmark judgments on climate change (Thabametsi), air pollution (Deadly Air), and the protection of activists against SLAPP suits. The organisation operates four main programmes: Pollution & Climate Change, Corporate Accountability & Transparency, Activist Support & Training, and Mining. CER emphasizes an intersectional approach, focusing on the disproportionate impact of pollution on poor and Black communities and promoting women's leadership within the environmental justice movement.

• CER has secured several landmark legal victories in South Africa, including the Thabametsi judgment, which established that the government must consider climate change impacts before authorising new coal-fired power stations, and the 'Deadly Air' case, where the High Court ruled that poor air quality in the Mpumalanga Highveld violated the Constitutional right to a healthy environment.
• The organisation has successfully challenged the use of Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) suits, with the South African Constitutional Court recognising SLAPP as an abuse of process in November 2022 following a defamation suit brought by an Australian mining company against activists and CER attorneys.
• CER's corporate accountability work has led to financial institutions withdrawing support for fossil fuel projects; specifically, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) both withdrew funding from the Thabametsi coal power plant in November 2020.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2023). IMPACT REPORT 2009–2023. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Impact-report-digital-FINAL.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. IMPACT REPORT 2009–2023. 2023. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Impact-report-digital-FINAL.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=IMPACT REPORT 2009–2023 |date=2023 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Impact-report-digital-FINAL.pdf?x21779 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2023impact, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{IMPACT REPORT 2009–2023}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2023}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Impact-report-digital-FINAL.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }