With so many unanswered questions and unfulfilled requirements, The Green Connection is satisfied that the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) decision to refuse Karpowership SA’s request for condonation and extension with regard to its application for Environmental Authorisation for the project in Saldanha Bay. The news about the DFFE’s decision in Saldanha came through on Tuesday 30 May, just as The Green Connection and others civil society organisations were making further enquiries, with a view to challenging any DFFE decision to give Karpowership yet another opportunity to amend their Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports for Richards Bay.
Karpowership withdrew their EIA report on 26 April 2023 and on the same date applied for condonation in an attempt to cure shortcomings. DFFE has confirmed, in a letter to The Green Connection, that the EIA application is now deemed withdrawn and the application is closed from the Department’s side. Subsequently, it has come to light that DFFE has refused Karpowerships’ condonation application.
The Green Connection’s Community Outreach Coordinator Neville van Rooy says, “As an eco-justice organisation that works with the small-scale fishers who will be most affected by the presence of Karpowerships in the bay, The Green Connection is pleased that Karpower has received yet another refusal in Saldanha. However, while it is good news that the Department has refused to give Karpowership yet another bite at the cherry, Karpowership has submitted an appeal against the condonation refusal decision. We are studying the appeal and consulting with our legal team, with a view to submitting an appeal responding statement in due course.”
“The Green Connection and the communities we serve come from all walks of life, and we are all fully aware that South Africa urgently needs a solution to the electricity crisis. However, we also believe it critical to ensure that, for any proposed solutions, all the legal requirements must be met. This is to protect the people in the long run. And while Karpowerships have been touted as a top solution to the country’s electricity crisis, this company – in the past three or so years – has been unable to meet the legal requirements. This is why South Africans must be vigilant. Although all are desperate for some electricity now, we cannot, in our desperation sit back and allow our government to sign the country into any deals that could make electricity unaffordable and therefore unavailable for most, in the future,” says van Rooy.
He adds that Karpowerships cannot alleviate the situation for this winter because it takes between six (6) to twelve (12) months to build shore-to-ship infrastructure, and that is only after they have got all their approvals. And on top of that, these vessels could harm the ocean and thereby affect small-scale fisher and other coastal livelihoods. In a country crippled with unemployment, this does not seem to be a sensible move.
For more information about The Green Connection’s Who Stole Our Oceans campaign, go to www.thegreenconnection.org.za or follow us on social media: Facebook and Twitter.
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.