CAPE TOWN, South Africa: The Green Connection and Natural Justice are ready for court, now that they have received notification that the Minister and the Director-General of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE), along with TotalEnergies EP South Africa (TEEPSA) will oppose their joint legal challenge against the decision to grant environmental authorisation for exploratory drilling in block 5/6/7, located off the coast between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas.
The Green Connection’s Strategic Lead Liziwe McDaid says, “The Green Connection believes in good governance and for that reason we believe that it would be unfair to the ocean and those that depend on it if TEEPSA 5/6/7 was to continue. We believe that the process has been flawed and we are therefore in court. With the news that all the respondents intend to oppose us in court, we remain steadfast in ensuring that good governance prevails and that we also do not take and end up with those activities that will hinder South Africa’s efforts to combat climate change.”
Defending Rights Programme Manager at Natural Justice Melissa Groenink-Groves says, “We cannot stand idly by, as government and policy makers disempower the people and communities who stand to be directly impacted by potential negative ecological consequences of the proposed exploratory drilling. Our objective remains the conservation and protection of our coastal resources, safeguarding of the livelihoods of coastal communities and the promotion of meaningful public participation.”
The Green Connection’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Neville van Rooy says, “The Green Connection believes in responsible governance, which should include protecting the ocean, for this and future generations. This is why we approached the court, because it is our right to live with a clean, healthy ocean and we do not agree that a French oil company should be allowed to come here to plunder and destroy our ocean for oil and gas, which could also devastate the livelihoods of the small-scale fishers who depend on it. We are also concerned, with the ongoing onslaught of offshore oil and gas proposals, that our government does not seem to be taking its commitment to the Paris Agreement very seriously.”
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.