South African environmental justice organizations are celebrating a landmark ruling which recognized the poor air quality of South Africa’s Mpumalanga Highveld.
The South African High Court ruled Tuesday that poor air quality was a violation of residents’ Constitutional right to a healthy environment.
The court issued a groundbreaking ruling directing the South African government that it reduces air pollution in the coal-mining belt, which Greenpeace ranked as the most polluting.
Mpumalanga is South Africa’s hub for coal and borders Mozambique. It boasts 12 coal-fired power plants.
According to Greenpeace, the air in this region is among the most polluted in all of the world. It has record levels nitrogen dioxide.
“The doctor suggested that the only permanent solution is to take your child with you to your family. I am from KZN (Kwa-Zulu Natal), but they come to see me in KZN. I use a lot of medication, then when I get back home, I sit down to ask myself how many people are facing the same problem. Promise Mabilo, one of the Deadly Air applicants, told AFP.
Vukani and groundWork, two local environmental groups, took the South African government to court in 2019 for “violating” the constitutional right of citizens to breath clean air in the so called “deadly-air” case.
They won the case at Pretoria’s high court last week, declaring that air quality in the region was “in contravention of residents ‘… constitutional entitlement to an environment which is not harmful for their health and well being”.
“The South African government has been ordered to rectify the… breach declared at the high court,” Tim Lloyd of environmentalists told AFP on Tuesday.
The organisations stated that exposure to toxic materials from coal plants such as sulphur dioxide, mercury, and fine particles has led to an “epidemic” of asthma, lung cancer, and bronchitis.
According to Andy Gray, an American atmospheric scientist, air pollution was responsible for between 305-650 premature deaths in the area in 2016.
In 2012, the Government’s Environmental Affairs Ministry published an Air Management Plan for the Region. However, it was never implemented.
Friday’s court ruling gave the government a year deadline to implement the plan.
