Three South African environmental and climate justice organisations took the South African government to court in November 2021, to challenge the authorisation of new coal-fired power as part of the country’s energy mix. Three years later, the court ruled that the government’s new coal plans were unlawful, invalid, and against the country’s constitution. Therefore, these plans cannot go ahead. Environmental law specialist Melanie Murcott researches how courts consider the risks and impacts of climate change and environmental and human rights violations in their judgments. In this article, she discusses the #CancelCoal case.
Why was the #CancelCoal case brought to court?
South Africa gets about 85% of its electricity from burning coal. The country has committed to moving towards cleaner energy alternatives such as solar and wind energy. But the government has said it will “aggressively pursue” coal, oil and gas as well as renewable energy.
