Coal Kills
groundWork’s resistance to coal expansion is tied in with our partners the Centre for Environmental Rights, a public interest law NGO, and Earthlife Africa, South Africa’s older environmental justice organisation, under the banner of “Life After Coal”. Together we work with a variety of NGOs and community people and organisations throughout the country who have done amazing work documenting the impacts of coal on people and their environments.
This compilation of research was motivated by the words of the then Chair of the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs, Mr Jackson Mthembu, an ex-worker in the steel-mills of the Highveld. He asked for local research to highlight the evidence of the impact, rather than focusing on international studies.
Since then, groundWork and our community and NGO partners have been to parliament
to share our experiences and research with the powers that be. This, however, is the first time that these pieces have been put together.