South Africa’s Constitutional Court – the country’s highest court and final court of appeal – revoked Shell and Impact Africa’s exploration rights on the Wild Coast, thereby halting plans to search for oil and gas along the coast using seismic surveys. The intense underwater noise caused by these surveys raised concerns about potential harm to marine life and ecosystems, particularly as local communities have close cultural and economic ties to the sea.
The court found that both the consultation with local communities and the consideration of key environmental and climate concerns were inadequate. What began in 2021 with six local councils, NGOs and environmental justice organisations has developed into the first climate case to be heard before South Africa’s Constitutional Court and is regarded as a landmark ruling on climate justice. Five key dimensions of climate justice can be derived from the court’s approach, as Angela van der Berg, an expert in environmental and climate law, has outlined in “The Conversation”: procedural justice, recognition justice, distributive justice and intergenerational justice, as well as an understanding of justice that encompasses not only people but also ecosystems and other species.
Source: www.dandc.eu
