A South African court has nullified the environmental authorization for state-owned electricity utility Eskom’s proposed 3,000-megawatt gas-fired power plant. The court cited multiple reasons for its decision, including the failure to adequately consult local residents and consider the full impacts of the power plant’s entire life cycle on climate change.
“This ruling shows that environmental authorities must protect people and future generations, not fossil fuel interests,” Yegeshni Moodley of local NGO Groundwork, one of the applicant civil society organizations, told Mongabay.
Eskom aimed to build the natural gas power plant in the state-owned Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ) in the country’s KwaZulu-Natal province. Groundwork and the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance challenged the project at the Pretoria High Court in 2022, arguing, among other points, that the project’s greenhouse gas emissions were inconsistent with South Africa’s commitment to decarbonization. However, the judge ruled in Eskom’s favor. Both nonprofits then challenged the High Court ruling at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
The SCA agreed with them, finding that the environmental impact assessment had failed to consider renewable energy alternatives and cumulative impacts associated with gas extraction and transportation, besides inadequate community consultation.
The ruling passed in September also found that the environment minister, Dion George, had acted unlawfully in granting approval for the project, as his decision failed to comply with key principles of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). The court further noted that the country’s obligations under the Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, and the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change are legally relevant commitments that should inform environmental decision-making.
Moodley said the case reflects growing judicial recognition of the urgency of climate change and the tangible harms experienced by communities.
Many African countries are pursuing natural gas as an energy source. Gas is also a cornerstone of the South African government’s plan to transition away from coal, as it’s seen as a “cleaner” fuel. However, research suggests while natural gas production emits less CO2 than coal, its emissions of methane, a much more potent greenhouse gas, can be considerable, negating the CO2 benefits.
Moodley said that Groundwork and other NGOs have challenged all 12 gas power plant projects currently proposed in South Africa, including five within the RBIDZ. Mongabay contacted the industrial zone’s operator for comment about what the court ruling means for those projects, but hadn’t received a response by the time this article was published.
Eskom told Mongabay in a written response that the ruling was a setback, but said that gas remains central to its energy strategy. “The judgment does not affect the planning and implementation of Eskom and government planning for new energy infrastructure,” a spokesperson said, adding that Eskom is still studying the judgment.
Mongabay also contacted South Africa’s energy department and environment department, but neither responded to our requests for comment.
Banner image: An Eskom power station in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province. Image courtesy of Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp (CCBY-ND4.0).
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