Search Climate Insights Directory

The Tutuka Power Station Annual Emissions Report for the 2015/16 financial year (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016) details the verified emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases, monitoring data availability, and compliance audit results for the facility.

The South African Department of Environmental Affairs granted Tutuka Power Station phased postponements for compliance with minimum emission standards for particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, while requiring an offset programme to reduce PM pollution by March 2016.

The Tutuka Power Station Annual Emissions Report for the 2016/17 financial year (1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017) details pollutant emissions, compliance audits, and environmental complaints. The report covers emissions of particulates, SO2, NOx, and CO2, noting a specific NOx exceedance incident at Unit 4 and ongoing planning for upgrade projects including a Fabric Filter Plant retrofit.

This practice note, submitted by the Voice Community Representative Council (the Twelfth Respondent) in a High Court case in South Africa, requests that the court consider the economic impact on the local community when deciding on an urgent interim interdict to prevent a mine from opening.

The University of Cape Town (UCT) filed an affidavit seeking admission as an amicus curiae in a defamation case to argue that academic freedom, protected by the South African Constitution, should provide legal safeguards for speech in academic settings. UCT proposes that academic speech be protected by 'qualified privilege' or a 'reasonableness' standard, arguing that the pursuit of knowledge requires the freedom to discuss real-world examples and contest ideas without the threat of defamation claims. The case relates to a 2017 Environmental Humanities course that discussed controversial mining and development projects in South Africa.

This case study examines the regulatory and legal challenges surrounding the Klippan Colliery, operated by Umcebo Mining (Pty) Ltd. Despite an initial victory for civil society when the Minister of Mineral Resources upheld an appeal against the mining right in 2008, the document details ongoing concerns regarding unauthorized mining operations, failures in environmental impact assessments, and the lack of necessary water use licenses.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is a comprehensive international agreement establishing a legal framework for the use, conservation, and management of the world's oceans and seas. It defines various maritime zones, including the territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, and the continental shelf, while establishing the International Seabed Authority to manage the 'Area' (the seabed beyond national jurisdiction) as the common heritage of mankind. The document details the rights and duties of coastal and land-locked states, rules for navigation and innocent passage, obligations for the protection of the marine environment, and mechanisms for the settlement of maritime disputes.

This document provides a results summary of particulate emission monitor and air-to-gas flow correlations for Unit No. 1 at Duvha Power Station, based on February 2016 data. It confirms compliance with ISO 10155 and ESKOM standards and recommends the use of specific correlation functions for reporting emissions to authorities.

This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) analyzes the accessibility of environmental information in South Africa through an assessment of 98 PAIA requests and 42 formal requests made to 17 public and 35 private bodies between July 2010 and early 2012. The findings reveal a widespread culture of avoidance, delay, and non-compliance with the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA), which the CER argues fundamentally hampers the realization of constitutional environmental rights.

The document is a legal filing or court submission from September 2013 regarding a case involving 'VEJA v AMSA' in the South Gauteng High Court. It outlines the legal arguments and factual basis for a challenge against the South African Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), focusing on the failure to provide adequate safety and environmental protections in the maritime sector.

This case study examines the 1955 legal dispute Walker’s Fruit Farms Ltd & Another v Hopkins & Others, focusing on whether conditions of title attached to land can constrain mining activities, specifically slate quarrying in the Walkerville region.

This fact sheet by the Centre for Environmental Rights details the estimated annual water-related externality costs for the Kusile coal-fired power station and argues that the Draft Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity (2016) misrepresents the total costs of coal by failing to account for these externalities.

The Water Tribunal issued a ruling on 20 August 2010 regarding an appeal by Gideon Anderson (T/A Zonnelbloem Boedery) against a water use licence granted to Vuna Enterprises (Pty) Ltd. The Tribunal determined that the appellant lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to lodge the appeal because he had not submitted a formal written objection within a prescribed time period as required by the National Water Act (NWA).

This guide, published by the Centre for Environmental Rights, provides instructions for individuals and communities in South Africa on how to identify environmental crimes committed by mining companies and the process for reporting these offences to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for criminal prosecution.

This document is a response filed by UX Inc. on behalf of William Patrick Bower (Pty) Ltd (WPB) to an appeal lodged by Birdlife South Africa against the granting of a mining right. WPB argues that the appeal is out of time, that Birdlife South Africa lacks standing, and that the environmental concerns raised are based on outdated data and ignore the fragmented state of the land due to historical farming.

This case study examines the granting of a mining right and Environmental Management Programme (EMP) to Xstrata South Africa (Pty) Ltd for land in the Carolina magisterial district of Mpumalanga Province, highlighting failures in public consultation and the disregard for environmental sensitivities.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted a formal request to the South African Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy to suspend a decision granting Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Ltd (MSR) an amendment to expand the Tormin Mine on the West Coast. The CER argues that the expansion occurs in Critical Biodiversity Areas and was approved without public participation or adequate assessment of cumulative environmental impacts.

A letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) to the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy requesting that a decision on the suspension of an amended mining right for the Tormin Mine be deferred until the CER can respond to objections raised by the right holders.

A letter from the law firm Webber Wentzel, acting on behalf of the Centre for Environmental Rights, requesting the Record of Decision (ROD) from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) regarding an appeal to extend mining operations at the Tormin mine on the West Coast.

This briefing document is a recommendation to the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to approve amendments to mining rights held by Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Ltd and Tormin Mineral Sands (Pty) Ltd. The proposed changes include adding magnetite as a mineable mineral and extending the mining area for Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Ltd in the Magisterial District of Van Rhynsdorp.