Earthlife Africa

The proposed Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) in Northern Limpopo, hailed by some as the answer to boosting economic development in South Africa and the broader Southern Africa, has come under fire for the negative social and environmental impact that its development would have on the area.

According to Earthlife’s Thabo Sibeko, the World Bank should hold Eskom accountable according to its loan agreement.

One of the key objectives of the Life After Coal Campaign is to discourage the development of any new coal-fired power stations.

Environmental justice organisations strongly contest Eskom’s further round of multiple applications to postpone compliance with air pollution standards.

The inclusion of new coal in the updated draft IRP for electricity will cost South Africa close to R20 billion more than it needs to spend.

Mining coal and burning it in power stations uses large amounts of water, and pollutes even more of the precious resource.

A report released by the University of Cape Town’s Energy Research Centre shows that government’s planned independent power producer coal plants – Thabametsi and Khanyisa – would cost South Africa an additional R19.68 billion compared to a least-cost energy system.

The Life After Coal Campaign and Greenpeace Africa say that the Department of Energy will face a legal challenge from them if the IRP for electricity ignores constitutional obligations.