Power and Accumulation Coal Mining, Water and Regulatory Failure

Forrest, Kally; Loate, Lesego

doi:10.1016/j.exis.2017.12.007

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…While the Mining Charter successfully created a new Black capitalist class invested in coal mining (Bowman 2019; Capps 2012; Forrest and Loate 2018), it has not addressed the needs of those most severely impacted by extractive industries, who are Black but not among the ruling elite. These are the lives that are deemed surplus and disposable.…”

Section: Results and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The government's international climate commitments and climate policy often contradict its actions, such as the yet‐to‐be completed coal‐powered stations expected to be among the most emission intensive globally (Ireland and Burton 2018), the exclusion of land from the Mabola Protected Environment to allow coal mining exploration (Mabola Coalition 2021), or the absence of explicit mentions of climate change or its impacts in the latest Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan aimed at tackling the socio‐economic impacts of COVID (South African Government 2020). The National Development Plan 2030 outlines an extractive development path (National Planning Commission 2012), suggesting continued emissions from coal fired electricity, mining, and heavy industry (Forrest and Loate 2018).…”

Section: Contextualising Climate Inaction In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Instead, analyses focus on two entities responsible for over half of South Africa's emissions: Eskom, the state's coal‐based energy producer, and Sasol, which runs one of the most emission intensive coal‐to‐liquid fuel operations globally (Creamer 2020; Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries 2020; Eskom 2011; Ireland and Burton 2018; Sguazzin 2020). Both institutions were set up by the apartheid government and most literature links climate inaction to a socio‐technological path dependency caused by Eskom and the associated struggles of transitioning from coal (Forrest and Loate 2018; Ireland and Burton 2018; Marcatelli 2020; Pegels 2010). Thus, this literature overlooks the colonial foundations of current climate obstacles within South Africa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coloniality as a Barrier to Climate Action: Hierarchies of Power in a Coal‐Based Economy

Ryneveld¹,

Işlar

2022

Antipode

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South Africa has a coal‐based energy system and extractive economy, largely responsible for its high emission levels relative to countries with similar GDP. This extractive, coal‐based economy began during British colonisation and today shows few signs of transitioning rapidly to limit climate change. This paper interrogates the role of coloniality in climate delay, given that colonisation is responsible for establishing fossil fuel dependence in South Africa. Combining theory on decolonisation, specifically colonial hierarchies of power, with a critical discourse analysis, this research uses interview and policy data to show how colonial power hierarchies can lead to climate delay in South Africa, through normalising emissions intensive development and silencing alternatives. In doing so, it highlights the need to recognise the colonial foundations of climate change and the potential for a coalition between decolonisation and climate action to motivate for radical change both in South Africa and at a global level.

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Section: Results and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Contextualising Climate Inaction In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coloniality as a Barrier to Climate Action: Hierarchies of Power in a Coal‐Based Economy

Ryneveld¹,

Işlar

2022

Antipode

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“…Trade-offs associated with fossil-fuel-based energy security (and the associated coal mines) in South Africa include, inter alia, human health, air pollution, water pollution, loss of high-potential agricultural land and loss of biodiversity (Colvin et al 2011, BFAP 2012, Lodewijks et al 2013, CER 2016, Solomons 2016, CER 2018, Forrest and Loate 2018, Greenpeace 2018, CER 2019, Fleming 2019, Simpson et al 2019. A crucial consideration in integrated resource management is that the attainment of resource security for one sector should not compromise an interdependent sector (Simpson and Berchner 2017).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus Index: A Tool for Integrated Resource Management and Sustainable Development

Simpson¹,

Jewitt²,

Becker³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus has, in the past decade, gained prominence as an approach for assessing integrated resource management. One challenge related to the WEF nexus approach is how to represent and monitor it since a system that includes water-, energy- and food-related parameters is complex. Not only are these resources quantified utilising different units, but they vary both spatially and temporally.This paper presents a national-level composite indicator that has been established for 170 countries, utilising the methodology developed by the Joint Research Centre: Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards. Following an assessment of 87 globally applicable water-, energy- and food-related indicators, 21 were selected to constitute the WEF Nexus Index. This index is made up of three equally weighted pillars representing the three constituent resource sectors, and six sub-pillars. A core element in the development of this index is equitable access to resources, which is characterised by each resource sector's ‘access’ sub-pillar. The WEF Nexus Index provides a quantitative perspective and offers a lens for evaluating trade-offs to be considered in the pursuit of sustainable development. To this end, it is intended for assessing national progress relating to integrated resource management as well as supporting decision making and policy development. The relevance and usefulness of the outcomes are demonstrated through an assessment of South Africa. The development of the WEF Nexus Index has demonstrated that no country is undertaking integrated resource management flawlessly. Every nation has the potential for improvement; which is evidenced by, for example, the top-ranking country for the index needing to reduce CO2 emissions. Neither the composite indicator nor the WEF nexus approach is, however, the panacea that will solve all the significant development or environmental challenges facing the global society. It can, however, contribute to integrated resource management and is complementary to the Sustainable Development Goals. It should ideally be utilised as an entry point into the underlying pillars, sub-pillars and indicators, in parallel with other qualitative and quantitative studies.

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“…The water quality of the Olifants River is such that it cannot be used by Eskom's (the national utility) new coal-fired power station Kusile because the water is too polluted (Olsson, 2013). Irresponsible mining and regulatory failure are key aspects leading to the decline in water quality and quantity in Mpumalanga (Forrest and Loate, 2018).…”

Section: Water Securitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Competition for Land: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Coal Mining in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

Simpson

Badenhorst

Jewitt

et al. 2019

Front. Environ. Sci.

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The Mpumalanga Province is a key source of South Africa's coal supply with over 60% of the province's surface area either being subject to mining rights or prospecting applications. Mpumalanga also possesses almost half of the country's high potential arable land. While South Africa is currently largely self-sufficient in terms of cereal grains, what this assessment of Mpumalanga highlights is that food security is increasingly being threatened by coal mining interests that serve the nation's energy needs. Water availability and quality for mining, agriculture and energy production in this province are also becoming increasingly strained. The water quality deterioration generally results from either acid mine drainage (AMD) or contaminated runoff from mines and agricultural lands. This assessment of Mpumalanga highlights the interconnectedness of energy, food, and water security, with their resultant trade-offs. The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus provides a focussed lens through which to evaluate resource security in a holistic manner. Only once regulators, NGOs, industry, and the public view the resource security challenges in Mpumalanga in an integrated manner can planning and policies that lead to sustainable development be advanced, and objectives such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) be achieved. There is, therefore, a need for WEF nexus science and data to influence integrated public policy within this province.

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Power and Accumulation Coal Mining, Water and Regulatory Failure

Cited by 6 publications

References 14 publications

Coloniality as a Barrier to Climate Action: Hierarchies of Power in a Coal‐Based Economy

Coloniality as a Barrier to Climate Action: Hierarchies of Power in a Coal‐Based Economy

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus Index: A Tool for Integrated Resource Management and Sustainable Development

Competition for Land: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus and Coal Mining in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

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