As we reflect on the milestones of 2022, we are grateful for the dedication of CER staff and supporters, and heartened by the growing, diverse and vibrant environmental and climate justice movement in South Africa and beyond. While we have not yet seen the global climate action we need at the scale and speed required… continued
UPDATE: On 8 December 2022, attorneys for Karpowership SA Pty Ltd wrote to the Centre for Environmental Rights alleging that the release below contains “certain defamatory statements”. On 13 December 2022, CER’s attorneys wrote to attorneys for Karpowership SA Pty Ltd denying the alleged defamation. RELEASE DATE: 6 December 2022 In light of the serious… continued
Climate science makes clear that global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be reduced by almost half by 2030 in order to limit warming to 1.5°C. Fossil fuel company Sasol Limited is the country’s largest private GHG emitter and its toxic emissions have negatively impacted fenceline communities for decades. Just Share and the Centre for Environmental… continued
IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 20 November, 2022 COP27, the “African COP”, has concluded in Egypt with final decisions that have activists celebrating and despondent in equal measures. Overall, it is evident that the final outcomes of COP27 do not in any way respond to the scale and urgency of the global climate crisis. “Despite the push… continued
CER Climate Advocacy Lawyer, Brandon Abdinor, and CER Head of Communications, Lerato Balendran, will be using a local lens to discuss themes and developments from this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, the COP27 summit, taking place from 6 to 18 November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. NovEMBER 18: winding down, winding up The “climate… continued
Applicants in South Africa’s first youth-led climate change case, represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), will be appearing in the Pretoria High Court on 16 November 2022. The court will hear their application to compel the Minister of Mineral Resources & Energy to release records relating to the Minister’s decision to include new… continued
The pair of landmark judgments handed down by the South African Constitutional Court on Monday for the first time recognise SLAPP (strategic litigation against public participation) as an abuse of process, and carve out a limitation to trading corporations’ ability to claim damages for reputational harm. The judgments have important consequences for the protection of… continued
Providing a framework for fracking in South Africa , even one which attempts to regulate the environmental effects of this destructive process, is not the answer. Instead, if the South African government really wants to uphold constitutional rights and its climate commitments, it must properly consider the cumulative effects of fracking – on climate change,… continued
Written by Leanne Govindsay, originally published by Business Day. The financing on offer to support SA’s energy transition risk the country becoming crushingly over-indebted President Cyril Ramaphosa and his team in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, for COP27 will be focused on what are likely to be tough negotiations with their partners in the Global North…. continued
With the Conference of the Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP27 underway in Sharm el-Sheikh, the LAC campaign – which includes Earthlife Africa, groundWork and the Centre for Environmental Rights, calls on the South African government to play a leading role at COP27, and to stand in solidarity with developing and climate vulnerable countries,… continued
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) has collaborated with the Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of South Africa (MEJCON-SA) and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) to host a series of workshops around the country on gender-based violence (GBV) and harassment. The workshops took place in Lephalale and Sekhukhune in… continued
Article originally published by Mail & Guardian. When first announced with fanfare at COP26 in November 2021, climate and environmental justice groups in South Africa cautiously welcomed a partnership between the governments of South Africa, the US, the UK, France, Germany and the EU to mobilise $8.5-billion (R131-billion) over the next three to five years to… continued
IMMEDIATE RELEASE On 18-19 October 2022, a coalition of environmental justice organisations, represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), will appear in the Pretoria High Court for the latest hearing in the now seven-year long legal battle to prevent coal mining near Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga province. In this matter two members of the coalition… continued
Here’s why financial provision regulations – the rules which ensure that mining and other extractive companies provide financial security to rehabilitate the impacts of their operations – are so important when it comes to protecting the rights of some of South Africa’s most vulnerable communities. Robust financial provision regulations can play an integral part in… continued
On Friday 23 September, the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) hosted the graduation ceremony of the 6th edition of our annual Environmental Rights and Remedies Course for environmental justice activists. After two years of hosting the course virtually due to Covid-19, the CER welcomed 14 environmental justice activists from across the country to participate in… continued
A new factsheet on the harms of gas brings together global scientific evidence and expert local research to show why investing in gas as an energy source in South Africa is unnecessary, economically risky and comes with a number of public health and climate change threats. Over the last 18 months there has been an… continued
According to a broad coalition of environmental and climate justice groups, government’s current plans to procure an additional 3000 megawatts of new gas power are vague, unnecessary and threaten the Constitutional rights of people living in South Africa. Environmental and climate justice groups groundWork, the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), Natural Justice and the… continued
IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 19 September 2022 Sasol and the Minerals Council have been lobbying against the implementation of a carbon tax in South Africa for at least a decade. But the latest tactic in this campaign implicates a huge swathe of corporate SA in a concerted effort to undermine, delay and impede the implementation of… continued
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Environmental groups urge government to ensure rules to clean up air on Mpumalanga Highveld uphold Deadly Air judgment and lead to real change. Applicants in the landmark Deadly Air case welcome progress being made on regulations for implementing and enforcing priority area air quality management plans but are calling on government to ensure that its… continued
Article by Khumo Lesele, originally published by Mail & Guardian. In June, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change released a report on the gender-differentiated impacts of climate change. Drawing on hundreds of peer-reviewed sources from around the world, the report painted a grim picture of how women are already facing significantly elevated risks of… continued