The township of Phola is heavily polluted by coal-fired power stations. Photo: © Mukurukuru Media / Shutterstock.com

South African coal risks almost 80,000 lives

South Africa’s state-owned power company, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd, operates 15 coal-fired power stations. Most of them are located in the Mpumalanga province east of the capital, Johannesburg.

A government-appointed panel has calculated the cost in human lives of continued operation after 2025 until the power stations reach their end of life. They state that the air pollution from the facilities risks killing 79,500 people during this period, if they are not decommissioned early. However, there are no such plans. And the company has so far been reluctant to comply with existing emission standards.

Report from Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air: Health impacts of Eskom’s non-compliance with minimum emissions standards

Air pollutionAir qualityCoal power

In this issue

Global warming alters plankton communities

Plankton are cornerstones in marine food webs. Now research in the Mediterranean Sea shows that even short-term heat waves in the oceans can cause great damage to plankton communities.

Editorial: Need for an integrated view on oceans and climate

The oceans are hotter than ever. New records for marine heatwaves seem to be set more or less annually.

Mediterranean Sea will become a low-sulphur fuel area by 2025

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the IMO met for its 79th session in December 2022. The MEPC adopted amendments ...

Overcoming windpower conflicts in the Baltic Sea

Two conflicts regarding the location of offshore wind power in Estonia and Poland, show the benefit of including a wide range of stakeholders at an early stage in the planning process.

The long-term goal is 1.5°C

UN and G20 summits reaffirm that limiting global warming to 1.5°C requires global CO₂emissions to be reduced by 45% by 2030 relative to the 2010 level and to net zero by 2050.

CO₂ from the cement industry can be reduced without CCS

There are good opportunities to reduce emissions from cement production, which now amount to some 7 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions.

Measuring ozone the right way

Ground-level ozone affects our crop yields, with wheat being the most sensitive. Various indices can be used to express the ozone exposure of crops.

New US standard for fine particles to be expected

The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) proposes to tighten national air quality standards for fine particle matter (PM_2.5) for the first time since 2012.

Renewables are planable

There is no need for fossil fuels or nuclear power to stabilise our power system. Large power plants actually increase uncertainty, since the effects are so great when they fail to deliver.

Harvests from rewetted land

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions we need to restore huge areas of degraded peatland. Paludiculture can play an important part in stimulating interest among landowners.

Carbon removal proposal – a gift to emitting industries

A new Commission proposal presents carbon dioxide removal as an alternative to stop emitting CO₂. This may open up large loopholes in EU climate policy.

Flemish nitrogen breakdown

Nitrogen policy in the Flanders, in Belgium, has now become as explosive as it has been in the Netherlands in recent years.

Energy savings in buildings – an untapped potential

Heating and cooling of buildings is behind a third of CO2 emissions in the EU. Less than 1% of the stock is renovated each year; member states must step up and increase the pace.

Wind, water and solar – enough to solve the climate crisis

The payback time for a transition to a completely renewable energy system is less than six years. Additionally, it would require only about 0.53% of the world’s land for new energy which is less than the land required for the current energy system.

Greening electricity

Wind and solar produced more than 10% of global electricity in 2021, for the first time. They also surpassed nuclear, which fell below 10% for the first time in several decades. Hydro is still the top non-fossil electricity producer, but solar and wind are growing much faster.

EU is too slow on phasing-out fossil fuels in transport sector

The EU reached agreement in February 2023 on ending sales of new combustion engine cars and vans by 2035. But phasing out sales of new cars with internal combustion engines in the EU by 2035 ...