THE MYTH OF “CLEAN COAL”

The report asserts that "clean coal" is impossible, detailing the severe impacts of coal mining and combustion in South Africa. It examines technologies like HELE plants, CFB combustion, and CCS, concluding they fail to substantially reduce emissions or costs compared to renewables. It further notes that Eskom and Sasol have frequently sought postponements to comply with national air quality standards.

• Coal mining in South Africa causes significant environmental and health damage, including the loss of arable land, dust emissions (PM10), and the creation of acid mine drainage, which solubilises toxic metals.
• The coal beneficiation process is highly water-intensive and generates vast amounts of waste; producing 250 million tons of coal annually requires between 42.5 million m3 and 147 million m3 of water and results in approximately 60 million tonnes of discard coal.
• Eskom's coal-fired power generation has severe health and climate impacts, with PM2.5 pollution causing more than 2,200 equivalent deaths annually and CO2e emissions accounting for 40% of South Africa's total in 2015.
• High Efficiency, Low Emissions (HELE) plants provide only incremental improvements, reducing CO2 emissions by at most 20% per kWh, while some pollution control technologies like flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) can actually increase overall CO2 emissions.
• Circulating Fluidised Bed (CFB) combustion systems do not solve the discard coal problem and can increase solid waste volumes and GHG emissions due to high Nitrous Oxide (N2O) levels.
• Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is not a viable solution for South Africa because it has not been proven at scale, faces unresolved long-term storage risks, and the proposed pilot projects are 4,200 times smaller than Eskom's annual CO2 emissions.
• South Africa's Minimum Emission Standards (MES) for pollutants like SO2 are significantly weaker than those in China and India, and Eskom and Sasol have frequently applied for postponements to avoid compliance.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2019). THE MYTH OF “CLEAN COAL”. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/The-Myth-of-Clean-Coal-Technical-Report-January-2019.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. THE MYTH OF “CLEAN COAL”. 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/The-Myth-of-Clean-Coal-Technical-Report-January-2019.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=THE MYTH OF “CLEAN COAL” |date=January 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/The-Myth-of-Clean-Coal-Technical-Report-January-2019.pdf?x21779 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2019myth, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{THE MYTH OF “CLEAN COAL”}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/The-Myth-of-Clean-Coal-Technical-Report-January-2019.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }