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The Centre for Environmental Rights, acting for groundWork and Earthlife Africa NPC, sent a letter to the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries on 12 May 2020, extending the deadline for the government to provide written reasons for amending the Minimum Emission Standards (MES) for sulphur dioxide (SO2) regarding existing solid-fuel combustion installations.

This report, prepared by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), analyzes various voluntary and legally binding international options to reduce risks to human health and the environment from mercury pollution. It evaluates these options against seven global priorities, including reducing atmospheric emissions, managing mercury waste, and curbing global supply.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), acting for the Highveld Environmental Justice Network (HEJN), groundWork (gW), and Earthlife Africa (ELA), submitted preliminary objections and recommendations regarding the draft Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) and draft Air Quality Management By-laws for the Nkangala District Municipality (NDM). The CER argues that the public participation process was procedurally unfair due to insufficient notice and comment periods. Substantively, the CER identifies critical gaps in the draft AQMP, including a lack of enforcement strategies, insufficient technical capacity within the NDM, and misalignment with the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) goals. The CER also proposes significant amendments to the draft by-laws to strengthen dust control, clarify authorization procedures, and ensure stricter local emission standards.

This document is an Atmospheric Emission Licence (AEL) issued on 23 June 2015 by the Gert Sibande District Municipality to Eskom Holdings SOC Limited for the Majuba Power Station. The licence, granted under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004, serves as a provisional transfer from an APPA registration certificate to an AEL and is valid for a period not exceeding 12 months.