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Coal Cancelled! Youth Victory in Landmark Case
On Wednesday, 4 November, the North Gauteng High Court handed down judgement in the landmark youth-led constitutional litigation dubbed the #CancelCoal case.
Civil society organisations Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action (VEM); the youth-based African Climate Alliance; and groundWork, Friends of the Earth South Africa represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) launched the case against the South African government’s decision to procure new coal-fired power.
groundWork and partners highlighted the failure of former Minerals and Energy Minister Mantashe and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to ensure adequate consultation with youth, children and representatives of future generations during the hearing. Due to the intensifying nature of the climate crisis, unchecked climate change will impact most heavily on children whose lives are still ahead of them. Additionally, it is children, (along with elderly people and those with respiratory health conditions) who are the most vulnerable to the toxic air pollution emitted by coal fired power plants.
The court declared the Government decision to procure 1 500 MW of new coal-fired power (and NERSA’s concurrence with it), unlawful and invalid on the basis that there was insufficient consultation with, and consideration of, the harms and limitation of rights of present and future generations that could follow from building new coal electricity generation.
The court also ruled that the portion of the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) that provides for this new coal generation is unlawful and invalid because this section of the IRP does not pass the test of legality. The court further found no evidence that the rights of children [and future generations] had been adequately considered when the Minister and NERSA made the decision to procure coal-fired power. In his ruling, the judge stated: “… From the foregoing, it is clear that the said impugned decisions would impact negatively on the rights of children under section 24 and 28 of the Constitution in the absence of cogent facts to the contrary.”
Burning coal is the biggest contributor to global climate change, in addition to unacceptable health impacts caused by air and water pollution. Government’s current plans to build 1 500 MW of new coal-fired power in South Africa are costly, unnecessary and an unjustified limitation of the Section 24 right to an environment not harmful to health and wellbeing, along with other rights, and should be abandoned. There is no justifiable basis for the limitation of constitutional rights because cleaner and less harmful renewable energy is both a feasible and cheaper alternative to new coal power.
“South Africa has the opportunity to move away from its reliance on polluting fossil fuels and to protect constitutional rights,” says Thomas Mnguni, groundWork Coal Campaigner from Middleburg.
“We experience air pollution, water pollution and land pollution – everything is affected by the coal mines. The environment we’re living in is very destructive, so many people are sick. Coal is affecting members of the community’s health and comfort, people are living with cancer and respiratory diseases and rely on oxygen and nebulisers just to survive. The Cancel Coal case is a last resort; we are saying there should be no new coal power, it is too destructive,” said Mbali Mathebula an environmental activist from VEM who lives in the Highveld.
The review application highlighted the findings of international research including the recently published Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report which confirms the need to urgently cut greenhouse gas emissions in light of the precarious state of our climate, and a series of in-depth expert analyses of the consequences of new coal-fired power specific to South Africa. These local expert reports document the unnecessary cost and job losses, climate harms and impacts on social, physical and mental health and well-being for people living in South Africa, now and in the future.
This judgment serves as a landmark legal victory for climate activists and reinforces the importance of considering environmental and health impacts in government decision-making. It underscores the constitutional right to a healthy environment and the government’s duty to protect the well-being of its citizens, especially future generations. This case sets a precedent for future legal challenges against environmentally harmful projects and emphasises the need for transparent and participatory decision-making processes.
Recently there have been several landmark rulings globally in favour of youth-led climate cases such as the Montana Youth vs the state in the US in 2023 where the ruling affirmed the right of youth to a healthy environment. The world’s biggest climate case also led by youth from Oceana started yesterday, Wednesday 4 December at The Hague in the Netherlands where oral arguments are being heard by the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, which will consider what obligations United Nations member states have under international law to protect the planet from greenhouse gas emissions for future generations.
Copy of Judgement: Signed Judgment – African Climate Alliance & Others v Min of Mineral Resources and Energy et al – 56901-2021
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- According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, air pollution from coal-fired power stations kills more than 2,200 South Africans every year and causes thousands of cases of bronchitis and asthma in adults and children annually.
