South Africa: Enforcement of Laws Needed to Curb Toxic Air in South Africa - UN

Cape Town — United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana, has made several findings on a visit to assess South Africa's adherence to sound management and disposal of hazardous substances, determining that coal-generated power plants and mining are largely responsible for the nation's air pollution, News24 reports.

Orellana, who spent several weeks in the country, cited additional statistics to support this and said:  "A study has estimated that 2,239 deaths and 9,500 cases of bronchitis per year are attributed to air pollution in South Africa," Orellana said. While Orellana hailed the government's work on advancing constitutional rights with strong laws in place to regulate pollution and the release of toxic chemicals, he added that enforcement of this legislation is lacking. "Exposure to dust and contaminants can profoundly impact human health and the environment. The issue is the enforcement of laws and regulations ... I am perplexed that the government is licensing new coal projects and coal mines, coal-powered power plants and offshore oil and gas projects."

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, commended Orellana's work, adding that it is important for developing countries to receive technological transfer, along with technical assistance and financial assistance, to make a safe environment a reality. "Rapid urbanization, industrialization and immigration, combined with fiscal challenges, have negatively impacted on government's ability to effectively manage environmental challenges," the Minister said.

The nation's history of pollution reached a watershed moment in 2019 when the area around Kriel in Mpumalanga was recorded as the world's second-biggest producer of sulphur dioxide emissions in a study commissioned by Greenpeace India. According to data from NASA satellites, the area's high levels of pollution were a direct result of a concentration of coal power plants there.

In 2022, the Constitutional Court made a landmark ruling which found that that air pollution is a violation of Constitutional rights. In her judgment, Judge Collis found for the applicants - environmental NGOs groundWork and Vukani - and ordered government to pass regulations to implement and enforce the Highveld Priority Area Air Quality Management Plan, which is aimed at cleaning up the air on the Highveld - a portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500m- to meet health-based air quality standards.

This article first appeared on AllAfrica

Photo: Getty