Earthlife Africa and groundWork v. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment of the Republic of South Africa

In November 2024, NGOs Earthlife Africa and groundWork filed an application for judicial review of exemptions granted by the South African Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and the National Air Quality Office (NAQO) with the Pretoria High Court. The application targets the exemptions, granted to the state-owned electricity utility Eskom, from complying with Minimum Emission Standards (MES) at eight of its coal-fired power stations. These exemptions allow Eskom to emit pollutants above the legal limit. The plaintiff alleges that the granting of the exemptions was unlawful, as Eskom failed to submit the required, comprehensive decommissioning plans. Without these plans, the Minister and NAQO are unable to evaluate the risks associated with granted noncompliance. The MES fall under South Africa’s National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, which aims to mitigate harmful emissions and pollutants that impact public health and climate change mitigation efforts. A ruling is pending from the Pretoria High Court. Earthlife Africa and groundWork v. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment of the Republic of South Africa (South Africa, High Court of Pretoria)