The North Gauteng High Court ruling halts the government’s plans to build new coal-fired power stations. Photo: File
Two weeks ago, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a significant advisory opinion that will change how people all over the world hold their governments accountable. The ruling found that governments must take steps to protect children’s right to a healthy environment in the face of the worsening climate crisis.
This comes just a few months after the North Gauteng High Court made a ruling which effectively halted the South African government’s plans to build new coal-fired power plants on the basis that it had failed to consult widely enough and to take into consideration children’s right to a healthy environment.
The court delivered the ruling in the #CancelCoal case, which was brought by the African Climate Alliance, Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action and groundWork. The trio of organisations argued that the decision by the government to build new coal-fired power plants violates the rights of present and future generations to an environment not harmful to health and well-being, but also the rights to life, dignity and equality, as well as the best interests of the child.
The ICJ ruling and the #CancelCoal case have similarities in that they both rely on the rights of children to a clean and safe environment. They place responsibility on governments to centre the rights of children and future generations in their energy plans.
South Africa’s oral presentations before the ICJ on this issue were both disappointing and scant on the rights of children. This is despite the fact that a number of organisations that represent children’s rights, including the African Climate Alliance, Black Girls Rising and Save The Children, have collectively made a submission to Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola urging them to prioritise children’s right to a healthy environment.
In their submission, they wrote: “We, the children and youth of South Africa, insist that the South African delegation tells the [International Court of Justice] our views.” The views were not different to those we presented to the North Gauteng High Court, which were that children must be allowed to make a meaningful contribution to climate governance, especially when it comes to decisions relating to a dependence on fossil fuels.
South Africa’s energy mix is saturated with fossil fuels, with almost all of our electricity supply coming from coal-powered power plants. In 2024, 83% of our energy mix came from the coal industry. This overwhelming dependence on coal has earned the country a spot in the top 10 users of coal in the world. If the government’s defence in the #CancelCoal cases are anything to go by, this is not going to change anytime soon.
Despite the fact that our reliance on coal claims the lives of more than 2 000 people in South Africa every year, the government insisted on defending its plans to build new coal-fired power stations. In the meantime, children in places like eMalahleni in Mpumalanga are suffering and dying from air pollution-related illnesses like asthma and chronic bronchitis.
In the submission to the minister, the trio of organisations made this clear. “Children and youth in Africa are especially harmed by climate change; 33 countries in Africa are in the highest danger category in the world for climate harm. This is an injustice because Africa contributes the least to carbon emissions which cause climate change.”
Unlike the ICJ advisory, the high court ruling on the #CancelCoal Case is binding on the government’s decisions on the future of coal dependence. It is a victory for a more energy just world for today’s generation of children and future generations.
Despite the ICJ’s decisions being non-binding, it is an indication of a turn in global opinion on the duty and responsibility of countries to act against climate change to protect the environment for future generations.
Luvo Mnyobe is a multimedia storyteller and digital communications coordinator at African Climate Alliance, a youth-led, movement-based organisation advocating for Afrocentric climate justice.