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This insights brief by the Southern African Resilience Academy (SARA) examines the role of urban informality in building equitable resilience in cities across southern Africa and the Global South. It argues that while informality is often invisible or viewed as a challenge, it provides critical services, livelihoods, and innovation that can enhance urban resilience if harnessed through inclusive governance and partnerships.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing the Life After Coal/Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahle Campaign, submitted a formal statement to the Portfolio Committee on Energy on 29 November 2017. The document outlines critical concerns regarding the lack of transparency, inadequate public consultation, and the omission of key economic and environmental data in the development of South Africa's draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for Electricity Update and the draft Integrated Energy Plan (IEP).

This report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) analyzes the implementation of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA) in South Africa between January 2010 and August 2014. It details the challenges in accessing environmental governance and management records from government departments, parastatals, and private bodies, highlighting a trend of using the protection of third-party commercial information to refuse requests.

This document is a draft written reply from the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to a National Assembly question asked by Mr M J Ellis (DA) regarding sewage pollution and infrastructure maintenance in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality.

This December 2007 submission from the Chemicals and Allied Industries Association (CAIA) to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) critiques the proposed minimum emission standards for listed activities. CAIA argues that the standards lack essential technical elements—such as averaging periods and compliance tolerances—and fail to follow the legally binding National Air Quality Framework. The association specifically opposes the adoption of European Union standards without considering the South African context, suggesting World Bank Standards as a more appropriate minimum baseline.

A formal approval document dated May 2014 in which National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (Pty) Ltd (Natref) authorizes legal proceedings against the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs and the National Air Quality Officer to review and set aside specific atmospheric emission regulations.

A June 2012 submission by the Natref refinery to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) regarding proposed Minimum Emission Standards (MES). Natref argues that inflexible national point source emission standards are impractical for existing facilities and proposes a 'bubble' approach to emissions management to ensure socio-economic sustainability and energy security.

This October 2012 submission from the Natref refinery to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) argues that the proposed Minimum Emission Standards (MES) are technically and socio-economically unsustainable for existing inland refineries. Natref advocates for a "bubble" approach to emissions management rather than a point-source approach and requests separate, less stringent limits for existing facilities compared to new plants.

This document is a submission from Sasol to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) detailing the company's objections to the requirement that existing industrial plants meet 'new plant standards' for emissions by April 1, 2020. Sasol argues that retrofitting old facilities is often technically impossible due to space and configuration constraints, economically unviable, and potentially counterproductive to other environmental goals, such as carbon footprint reduction and water conservation.

This document consists of the practice note, chronology, and heads of argument filed by Arcelormittal South Africa Ltd (AMSA) in the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. AMSA is appealing a High Court judgment that ordered it to disclose environmental records to the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA) under the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA). AMSA argues that VEJA failed to meet the 'need to know' threshold required for requests to private bodies and that there is no legal right for a private NGO to act as a regulatory 'watch-dog' to monitor a private company's environmental compliance.

The 2014 Natref Annual Emission Report, prepared for the Fezile Dabi District Municipality, details the pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions for the National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (Pty) Ltd (Natref) from July 2013 to June 2014. The report focuses on compliance with the Atmospheric Emission Licence (AEL) and Minimum Emission Standards (MES), providing sampling results for the main stack and several heaters, while noting pending installations for other sampling points.

Eskom's June 2017 update reports progress on emission reduction retrofits at Grootvlei and Duvha power stations and a reduction in relative particulate emissions to 0.30 kg/MWhSO for FY2017. While generally compliant with postponed limits, Eskom is seeking further SO2 postponements for Matimba and Medupi stations. Additionally, a 30-house electricity pilot has begun in KwaZamokuhle as part of an air quality offset programme to transition households from coal to electricity.

This April 2014 report is a draft motivation by Sasol Infrachem for exemption from the default application of certain Minimum Emissions Standards (MES) published in Government Notice No. 893 (GN 893) under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (NEMAQA). Sasol Infrachem argues that strict compliance with certain existing and new plant standards is technically or financially unachievable for specific point sources at its Sasolburg complex. The document proposes alternative emissions limits as license conditions and provides an Atmospheric Impact Report (AIR) to demonstrate that these alternatives maintain ambient air quality within National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

The National Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Report 2007-8 details the activities of Environmental Management Inspectors (EMIs) in South Africa from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008. It reports a significant increase in arrests and convictions compared to the previous year, though it notes that these figures are partly due to previous underreporting. The report covers national and provincial statistics, specific industrial non-compliance findings in the steel and refinery sectors, wildlife crime enforcement, and judicial training initiatives.

This document is a pollution prevention plan submission by Sasol South Africa (Pty) Limited and Sasol Mining (Pty) Limited. It details the company's production processes for liquid fuels, chemicals, ammonia, and nitric acid, alongside its coal mining operations. The report provides greenhouse gas (GHG) emission data for 2015 and 2016, the methodologies used for these calculations, and a list of mitigation interventions aimed at reducing GHG intensity through energy efficiency and process improvements.