The Green Connection Timeline

No major events recorded this month.

GC kicks off campaign with Port St John's workshop. EA practitioners withdraw Assegai's Saldanha power project application. GC criticises President's SONA for excluding ocean protection and small-scale fishers.

No major events recorded this month.

TEEPSA withdraws EIA application for Saldanha gas-to-power project after pressure from fishers and GC. GC releases report showing offshore oil and gas offer little socio-economic benefit. TOTAL postpones drilling in Block 11B/12B.

GC lodges complaint with DFFE over EIA regulation breaches in Karpowership Saldanha Bay project. Dutch court orders Shell to slash emissions. GC raises red flags over Tosaco Energy's Block 1 exploration EIA.

Hundreds protest Karpowerships at Saldanha's Friday Island Beach. President opens energy sector (cautious praise from GC). Major victory: DFFE refuses environmental authorisations for all three gas-to-power projects.

No major events recorded this month.

GC submits responses opposing Karpowership SA's appeals against DFFE's refusal. GC presents oral arguments against Karpowership licences at public hearings.

GC condemns Minister Mantashe's pro-oil and gas budget. Over 200 attend "Who Stole Our Oceans" Tribunal. Small-scale fishers and farmers oppose Bill's fossil fuel focus at public hearings.

No major events recorded this month.

GC joins peaceful demonstration outside African Energy Week demanding end to fossil fuels. Nearly 200 activists gather at V&A as Shell's Amazon Warrior docks enroute to Wild Coast.

GC condemns Minister Mantashe's remarks attacking anti-Shell outcry. Civil society successfully halts Shell's Wild Coast seismic survey and heads to court for West Coast protection.

No major events recorded this month.

Minister Mantashe's secret meetings with traditional leaders exposed. West Coast fishers supported by GC head to court to stop Searcher's seismic blasting. Communities victorious as court orders halt to survey activities.

No major events recorded this month.

GC takes NERSA to court to challenge Karpowership electricity generation licences for Saldanha, Coega, and Richards Bay operations.

NERSA announces opposition to GC's Karpowership court challenge. GC launches #WhoStoleOurOceans awareness campaign in Cape Town on Africa Day, calling for end to offshore oil and gas investment.

GC welcomes news that no Power Purchase Agreements with Karpowership have been signed. GC submits objections to TotalEnergies' Block 5/6/7 project.

No major events recorded this month.

No major events recorded this month.

Makhanda High Court rules Shell's Wild Coast exploration right unlawful. GC demands transparency over Azinam's missing Oil Spill Plan; fishers picket in Saldanha. Oceans Tribunal verdict delivered to Presidential Climate Commission. TotalEnergies applies for gas field production licence.

No major events recorded this month.

During 16 Days of Activism, fisherwomen highlight struggles against gender-based violence and fossil fuel threats to livelihoods.

Nationwide protests erupt against TotalEnergies and oil giants, with communities from Northern Cape to KZN demanding stop to new fossil fuel projects.

GC and SAFCEI launch legal challenge against President Ramaphosa over Section 6 of National Energy Act. Goldman Prize winners urge 78 banks and insurers to stop financing TotalEnergies' African projects.

GC and Natural Justice submit comments on TotalEnergies' Block 11B/12B scoping process, highlighting EIA shortcomings. President and Minister Mantashe confirm opposition to GC and SAFCEI's legal challenge.

GC submits Regulation 13 complaint against Triplo4 consultants for EIA breaches. DFFE denies Karpowership Coega authorisation and suspends Saldanha Bay application - major community win.

GC and SAFCEI continue Section 6 court case. GC expresses disappointment as DMRE grants TotalEnergies permission for five deep-water wells in Blocks 5/6/7. President publishes decision on Section 6, effective April 2024.

No major events recorded this month.

No major events recorded this month.

GC submits comments on SAREM, warning of narrow focus on electricity without addressing household energy security and poverty. GC files replying affidavits in NERSA and Karpowership court case.

No major events recorded this month.

GC and Natural Justice challenge Minister Creecy's decision allowing Karpowership's Generic EMPr for Saldanha. GC warns South Africans about powership risks after Karpowership cuts power to Freetown, Sierra Leone.

No major events recorded this month.

GC joins Power Up for Climate Solutions movement outside Parliament ahead of COP28. GC, Natural Justice, and fishers object to two new TotalEnergies applications. Goldman winners write to President urging withdrawal of Petroleum Bill.

National actions unite communities against offshore drilling targeting Shell, QatarEnergy, TotalEnergies, and Searcher. GC submits appeals against CGG Seismic Survey 2.0 and Karpowership Saldanha Bay.

GC alarmed over government and PetroSA's decision to appoint Equator Holdings for gas infrastructure funding, warning of fossil fuel entrenchment.

No major events recorded this month.

GC and Natural Justice launch court challenge against TotalEnergies' Block 5/6/7 exploratory drilling authorisation. DMRE Ministers, DFFE, and TotalEnergies all confirm opposition to the legal challenge.

No major events recorded this month.

GC, Natural Justice, and Masifundise submit comments on Block 3B/4B revised EIA. GC representatives and fishers travel to Paris supporting French NGOs in criminal complaint against TotalEnergies. Protests at TotalEnergies AGM in France and South Africa.

GC returns to court to compel NERSA and DMRE to release Karpowership information. GC welcomes reports TotalEnergies may abandon Block 11B/12B production right application.

GC celebrates TotalEnergies' official withdrawal from exploration blocks 11B/12B and 5/6/7 - major victory for environmental and socio-economic justice.

Women's Month: West Coast fisherwomen protest Searcher's seismic surveys. GC welcomes Constitutional Court's dismissal of Shell and Impact Africa's Wild Coast appeal. GC criticises State's delay in TotalEnergies Block 5/6/7 record delivery.

Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources finally submits TotalEnergies' Block 5/6/7 record of decision after pressure from GC and Natural Justice.

Karpowership projects declared "dead in the water" - major victory. GC and Extinction Rebellion protest outside Africa Oil Week. GC, Natural Justice, and Masifundise amplify opposition to Block 3B/4B ahead of COP29. Supplementary affidavit submitted for Block 5/6/7 challenge.

GC submits comments on Eskom's MYPD6 application. GC, Aukotowa Fisheries, and Natural Justice return to Western Cape High Court challenging coastal projects; TotalEnergies files opposition. Judicial review filed against TGS Geophysical seismic survey authorisation.

No major events recorded this month.