South Africa | Public health professionals call on government for climate leadership

South Africa | Public health professionals call on government for climate leadership

A group of prominent South African public health experts and practitioners has written to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni calling for stronger leadership from the South African government on climate, energy and health in building a post-COVID-19 South Africa.

In a letter to Minister Mboweni on 14 September 2020, the Climate, Energy and Health Special Interest Group of the Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA) writes that it is necessary to act now to combat climate change and build a new, resilient economy. The Special Interest Group has appealed to Minister …

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International health group calls for ban on coal, urges action by governments and institutions

International health group calls for ban on coal, urges action by governments and institutions

Calling coal a “lethal product,” the World Federation of Public Health Associations issued a Call to Ban Coal for Electricity Production.

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South Africa | Environment Minister upholds that power company must comply with air pollution regulations

South Africa | Environment Minister upholds that power company must comply with air pollution regulations

Photo: © Mujahid Safodien-Greenpeace

Health Care Without Harm’s partner in South Africa, groundWork, as part of a coalition of community and civil society organizations, achieved an incremental victory for public health in the highly polluted Mpumalanga Highveld region when South Africa’s Environment Minister rejected the public power company Eskom’s objection to complying with air pollution regulations and upheld the enforcement action against the utility’s Kendal power station.

In her decision, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy stated that she is “mindful of the fact that failure to …

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South Africa | groundWork releases report on Just Transition, highlights health vulnerabilities and opportunities

South Africa | groundWork releases report on Just Transition, highlights health vulnerabilities and opportunities

In March Health Care Without Harm’s partner in South Africa, groundWork, together with its Life After Coal partners the Centre for Environmental Rights and EarthLife Africa JHB, launched their 2019 report titled Down to Zero: The politics of just transition.

The Down to Zero report examines the urgent need to respond to climate change, create a truly democratic and participatory order, and share our work and the wealth of the land.

Health is discussed throughout the report, including the range of health risks arising from climate change and air pollution, which …

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South Africa | Health sector must join debate on climate change

South Africa | Health sector must join debate on climate change

It must amplify message after reports that global air pollution is behind many deaths

Op-ed by Rico Euripidou, groundWork, Healthy Energy Initiative partner in South Africa, published in The Mercury, October 14, 2019

The time is now for the health sector to join the environmental and climate debate!

A report has confirmed that the health impacts of coal-fired power plants in South Africa create a substantial burden on human health, leading to 2 239 equivalent attributable deaths annually. | African News Agency

For community people air pollution has since the …

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Global | Commitments, call to action, and key takeaways from the WHO Air Pollution Conference

Global | Commitments, call to action, and key takeaways from the WHO Air Pollution Conference

Health Care Without Harm participated in the First WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health in Geneva, Switzerland from October 30 – November 1, 2018. Learn more about our engagement at the conference at noharm-global.org/whoglobal.

“The health of the nation is in peril and the future of our children is at stake. It is time for resolute action, not just seasonal lament.”

– Dr. K. Srinath Reddy (President of the Public Health Foundation of India, a Health Care Without Harm partner) …

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South Africa | An Open Letter to New Energy Minister Jeff Radebe

South Africa | An Open Letter to New Energy Minister Jeff Radebe

South Africa’s energy future at stake: Life After Coal writes to new Energy Minister Jeff Radebe

 
The Healthy Energy Initiative’s partner in South Africa, groundWork, as part of the Life After Coal Campaign, has written an open letter to South Africa’s new Energy Minister Jeff Radebe. In the letter they state that “the Energy Ministry is of critical importance in determining future energy security for all the people in our country, and supporting the just transition to a low-carbon future; specifically how South Africa meets the need to …

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South Africa | New Report Shows How Coal Power Is Turning Mpumalanga Highveld into Wasteland

South Africa | New Report Shows How Coal Power Is Turning Mpumalanga Highveld into Wasteland

At the launch of a new groundWork (Healthy Energy Initiative partner in South Africa) report entitled Destruction of the Highveld: Part 2 – Burning Coal in eMalahleni, “the place of coal”, yesterday, community members* confirmed the study’s findings that Eskom’s coal addiction is causing serious health problems and killing people in the Highveld. They also called for a community and worker-led process to drive a just transition, and end the way in which coal power is turning the Mpumalanga Highveld into a wasteland.

Furthermore, the report finds that people are already …

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South Africa | Book Chapter: Climate Change, Air Pollution and Health in South Africa

South Africa | Book Chapter: Climate Change, Air Pollution and Health in South Africa

Rico Euripidou of groundWork, the Healthy Energy Initiative’s partner in South Africa, co-authored a chapter on “Climate Change, Air Pollution and Health in South Africa,” in a recently published book on Climate Change and Air Pollution: The Impact on Human Health in Developed and Developing Countries. Other co-authors include members of the Public Health Association of South Africa’s Climate, Energy and Health (CEH) Special Interest Group.

Abstract: 

Climate change and air pollution pose significant short-term and long-term health risks to South Africans due to the carbon intensity of …

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South Africa | Study: US$107-242 billion of externalities across lifecycle of South Africa’s Kusile Coal Plant

South Africa | Study: US$107-242 billion of externalities across lifecycle of South Africa’s Kusile Coal Plant

According to a study published in South African Journal of Science, the total coal-fuel cycle externality cost on both the environment and humans over the Kusile Coal Fired Power Station’s lifespan was estimated at ZAR1 449.9 billion to ZAR3 279 billion or 91c/kWh to 205c/kWh sent out (baseline: ZAR2 172.7 billion or 136c/kWh). Accounting for the life-cycle burdens and damages of coal-derived electricity conservatively, doubles to quadruples the price of electricity, making renewable energy sources such as wind and solar attractive alternatives. Read more.

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