Economists and environmental experts have warned the 2020 launch of one of South Africa’s biggest coal-fired stations, Medupi, could result in a climate and economic catastrophe.
David Hallowes, environment justice researcher from civil rights group Groundwork, said the official take-off of Medupi would fail to revamp the economy and pose danger to human life and the environment.“Medupi will commit one of the greatest climate crimes when it fully takes off. There was a huge fault in planning to build the coal station without flue-gas desulphurisation sulphur dioxide scrubbers, which eliminate chances of the dangerous gas being released in the atmosphere.
Groundwork research in 2018 predicted that Medupi in full operation without sulphur scrubbers, emissions would produce 30 million tons of carbon dioxide and 22,233,225 tons of sulphur dioxide a year. Economist Mike Holland calculated that the emissions from Medupi could cost 626 equivalent deaths each year from lung cancer, heart disease, lung disease and strokes. Aside from deaths, there could be 3,500 cases of bronchitis, over a million “restricted activity days”, with some 26,000 children suffering asthma attacks and nearly 280,000 lost working days.Already, communities next to the station complained about the lack of breathable air and a strong smell of sulphur choking them.
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