Search Climate Insights Directory

A statement from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) to the South African Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries arguing against the weakening of Minimum Emission Standards (MES) for sulphur dioxide (SO2) and challenging the cost claims made by Eskom and Sasol regarding pollution abatement technologies.

This 1989 research paper by Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute argues for the creation of markets in resource efficiency to combat the economic tendency to treat natural resource depletion and pollution as free goods. Lovins proposes treating saved resources—such as 'negawatts' of electricity—as commodities that can be traded, auctioned, and hedged, providing a market-based alternative to regulatory mandates. He asserts that efficient technology is generally cheaper than producing new resources, creating a significant profit opportunity for those who sell efficiency rather than the resource itself.

This document is an internal Air Quality Strategy from Eskom, a South African state-owned electricity utility. It outlines a framework to reduce atmospheric emissions of particulates, sulphur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and heavy metals from its power stations to ensure compliance with South African legislation, specifically the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, No 39 of 2004 (NEMAQA). The strategy details specific emission targets based on plant age, proposed technical retrofits, resource requirements, and the integration of air quality management with water, coal, and climate change strategies.

This document is an excerpt from Eskom's Air Quality Strategy (Unique Identifier: 32-1143), detailing the company's approach to ambient air quality monitoring, atmospheric dispersion modelling, stakeholder engagement, and research. It outlines specific emission targets for existing power stations, a retrofit plan to meet Minimum Emission Standards, and a strategy for coal beneficiation to reduce emissions.

This document is an excerpt from Eskom's Air Quality Strategy, detailing the company's plan to align its power station emissions with the South African Minimum Emission Standards (MES). It outlines specific emission targets for particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, while identifying significant resource constraints—including water, sorbent availability, and financial costs—that necessitate a phased and prioritised approach to retrofitting abatement technologies.