Forestry, fisheries and environmental affairs minister Barbara Creecy is not fighting the government’s move to delay plans to lower air pollution levels in coal-fired power stations despite flagged health risks.

The government was set to switch off some units in coal stations this year and next to lessen pollution levels. However, this will now be delayed because of the energy crisis.

Creecy told parliament during a question-and-answer session this week that the government could not switch off the units because of load-shedding.

The government has made international commitments to decrease carbon, sulphur dioxide emissions and other air pollutants. It committed to a deadline of March 31 2025 to decrease pollution. 

Creecy said by law the government had an option to delay the commitment if it switched off coal power units by 2030.

“In terms of compliance with the 2020 emissions minimum standards by March 31 2025, the current legal framework provides for power stations that will decommission in 2030 to apply for suspension of compliance with the 2020 minimum standards.”

She said in the next two months there were units that were to be switched off at Camden coal power station but this will not happen.

“The minister of energy [Gwede Mantashe] is of the opinion that now is not the appropriate time to decommission those units. We can still meet our NDC [nationally determined contribution] that deals with pollution controls targets by 2030 and we can make a decision to delay taking these units at Camden offline at a later point between now and 2030. It is not necessary to do it right now.”

Creecy said the government was not reversing its goal of investing more in renewable energy in the future.

She said the government was committed to reducing carbon emissions by 2030 to avoid physical risks of climate change, including droughts, floods and other disasters.

Creecy said she had appealed to the government to be mindful of the need to control pollution, particularly carbon and sulphur emissions.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, burning coal releases sulphur dioxide and other air pollutants that put people near the stations at risk of respiratory health problems such as asthma.

Lat month, the Life After Coal campaign, a joint campaign by Earthlife Africa, groundWork, and the Centre for Environmental Rights made legal submissions on Eskom’s application and raised concerns about the effect of sulphur dioxide.

“How much longer are we going to invest in an electricity system that is unreliable, expensive, deadly, when cheaper and safer alternatives are available? Eskom should use this opportunity to give serious consideration to accelerate the coal phase-out and the rollout of renewable energy,” said groundWork director Bobby Peek.