This week The Green Connection submitted a replying affidavit to KarpowershipSA companies and National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) opposing affidavits in The Green Connection’s application to compel the full record of decision. The case against NERSA to challenge its decision to grant three electricity generation licenses to the KarpowershipSA companies to operate powerships in the ports of Saldanha, Ngqura (Coega) and Richards Bay is still pending. This court case was initiated in April 2022.
For the Green Connection, it appeared that NERSA made its decision without considering the negative climate change, environmental and socioeconomic costs of Karpowerships, as at the time, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) had not granted the powerships’ environmental authorisations. In addition, The Green Connection argues that the public need to know the details of the pricing agreement – in order to be able to comment meaningfully.
According to Liz McDaid, Strategic Lead at The Green Connection, “This application to compel takes us one step closer to getting more information about this project because, as it stands, the public still does not have access to the information necessary to make an informed decision about Karpowerships. For instance, based on our supplementary affidavit (by energy expert Hilton Trollip), when looking at the information available, Karpowerships seems to come in at the higher end of the cost spectrum. The question is, why then (three) 3 years later, is it still being pushed as the solution?”
The Green Connection adds that it felt vindicated in its efforts to demand accountability from government and Karpowerships when the Western Cape Government – after doing its own research – announced (23 August 2023) that it agrees that Karpowerships is “not in the best interests” of South Africa. The eco-justice organisation says it agrees with WC Government that future electricity generation should come from low-carbon, renewable technologies.
McDaid adds, “OUTA is also pursuing a court case against NERSA electricity generation licence relating to and Karpower. South Africans do not have access to the information about the actual costs that will come with Karpowerships. There are still too many questions about its suitability and sustainability as a measure to fill the country’s short-term electricity generation gap. The public needs transparency about these projects. We must fully understand the consequences of any decision that could affect our lives and our livelihoods, and we should have the right to say no, when we believe that a project will do more harm than good.”
BENDING OVER BACKWARDS, DMRE GIVES KARPOWERSHIPS ANOTHER BREAK
30 September 2021 was supposed to be the commercial close – a date set by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) – for bidders in the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (RMI4P).
TOSACO EIA MET WITH PUSHBACK FROM CIVIL SOCIETY, TO PROTECT THE OCEAN AND SMALL-SCALE FISHER LIVELIHOODS
This week, The Green Connection submitted its comments critiquing several aspects of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, particularly the lack of procedural fairness, as well as the conclusions reached – notwithstanding information gaps and scientific uncertainty – that should form part Tosaco Energy’s request to undertake various activities in Block 1, off the West Coast.
RECENTLY GRADUATED GREEN CONNECTORS, EQUIPPED FOR THE POLLS AND READY TO WEIGH-IN ON COP26
Following their recent graduation from The Green Connection’s Legacy Champions Programme, these newly empowered Green Connectors say they feel equipped with the necessary advocacy skills to make positive changes in their communities, starting with their vote in the local elections (1 November) and weighing in on the discussions around COP26 (which starts on 31 October) – as part of their efforts to oppose oil and gas developments in the country and offshore.
GREEN CONNECTION’S ‘FUNERAL FOR THE CLIMATE’ (AFRICAN ENERGY WEEK) AND COMMENT ON YESTERDAY’S BUDGET SPEECH
This week (10 November 2021), we joined other environmental defenders in Cape Town to peacefully demonstrate outside the African Energy Week #AEW2021 conference venue demanding an end to fossil fuels and the immediate pivot toward the just transition to a renewable energy future.
CLOSE TO 200 PEOPLE RISE AT CRACK OF DAWN TO PROTEST THE ARRIVAL OF SHELL’S SEISMIC MONSTER, AMAZON WARRIOR
On Sunday morning, (21 November 2021), before the crack of dawn, nearly 200 concerned environmental defenders took to the Waterfront to get a glimpse of Shell’s seismic testing vessel, Amazon Warrior, as it made its way into Cape Town harbour. The vessel travelled down the West coast of Africa, on its way to the Wild Coast, to conduct seismic surveys for an estimated five (5) months.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS DOUBLE-UP ON EFFORTS TO OPPOSE UPCOMING AND FURTHER SEISMIC TESTING IN SOUTH AFRICA’S OCEANS
As the groundswell of opposition against Shell’s upcoming 3D seismic survey off the Transkei builds, the Green Connection – an ecojustice NGO that supports small-scale fishers in advocating for their livelihoods – reacted with astonishment to a press statement issued by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on 9 December 2021.