South Africa, a global hotbed of air pollution

South Africa is one of the world’s biggest hotspots for air pollution, and thermal power plants are considered among the most polluting on the planet, the international environmental organization Greenpeace announced on Friday.

“The country is home to 6 of the 10 largest emitters of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the world and nine of the largest emission points of this harmful substance in Africa”, the non-governmental organization underlines in a new report entitled “The biggest polluters in Africa“.

Pointing out that the most polluting thermal power plants are managed by the Public Electricity Company “Eskom”, she noted that the country has four of the nine thermal power plants that emit the most sulfur dioxide (SO2) on the continent.

“Despite the danger posed by air pollution in Africa, air pollution monitoring is insufficient in many parts of the continent», warns the study.

Read also: WTO: Agreement on plastic pollution, with the active contribution of Morocco

It encourages governments to take urgent action to reduce dependence on solid and fossil fuels and invest in clean and affordable energy technologies to preserve population well-being and mitigate climate change. It is also about adopting strict and comprehensive legal standards for air quality in all African countries to improve air quality, she continues.

South Africa, a country highly dependent on coal for energy production, is ranked fourteenth among the most polluting countries, according to Greenpeace.

The South African Center for Environmental Protection (CER) has warned that almost 80,000 South Africans will be at risk by 2025 from air pollution caused by the country’s coal-fired power plants.

It also highlights the slow progress towards a sustainable and affordable energy system. The country thus ranks at the bottom of the pack according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Energy Transition Index (ETI), ranking 110th out of 115 countries.

With MAP