{"id":12408,"date":"2020-10-14T10:25:37","date_gmt":"2020-10-14T10:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/?p=12408"},"modified":"2026-06-29T13:38:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:38:19","slug":"sasols-pockets-swell-while-sas-air-quality-suffers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/press\/12408\/sasols-pockets-swell-while-sas-air-quality-suffers\/","title":{"rendered":"Sasol&#8217;s pockets swell while SA&#8217;s air quality suffers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons aligncenter is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-cta\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/act.greenpeace.org\/page\/48801\/petition\/1?_ga=2.127338573.1560410628.1602669248-1015648198.1597646857\">join the fight against the climate crisis<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large  caption-style-medium caption-alignment-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" title=\"Air Pollution Action at Eskom&#039;s Megawatt Park in Johannesburg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2020\/02\/d3371d0a-gp0sttrtq-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Greenpeace activists block the entrance of Eskom&#039;s Megawatt Park headquarters in Johannesburg. \nWith a makeshift emergency hospital scene, the activists highlight the pollution and health problems caused by Eskom\u2019s coal-fired stations. \nSouth Africa has the most polluting cluster of coal-fired power stations in the world and research has confirmed that South Africans are breathing a toxic mixture of dangerous air pollutants.\" class=\"wp-image-8943\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2020\/02\/d3371d0a-gp0sttrtq-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2020\/02\/d3371d0a-gp0sttrtq-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2020\/02\/d3371d0a-gp0sttrtq-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2020\/02\/d3371d0a-gp0sttrtq-510x340.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2020\/02\/d3371d0a-gp0sttrtq.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><div class=\"credit icon-left\"> \u00a9 Shayne Robinson \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">REACTIVE<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">13 October 2020, Johannesburg &#8212; Sasol, South Africa&#8217;s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, received <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2020-10-13\/sasol-tax-break-subsidy-support-boosts-pollution-group-says\">a R6.5 billion boost in profits<\/a> last year as a result of their exemption from carbon tax. In response to this news, Greenpeace Africa&#8217;s Climate and Energy Campaigner Thandile Chinyavanhu has said:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Big polluters profit even when they pollute; what&#8217;s worse, they dodge accountability at every turn. Sasol, with the government&#8217;s complicity, continues to undermine the drive towards an environment that is healthy and safe for all. It&#8217;s clear that the climate crisis and compliance with air quality legislation are on neither the government nor Sasol&#8217;s agendas, despite any insistence otherwise.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;This is a depressing failure of the government and a grotesque testament to how big polluters like Sasol will stop at nothing to multiply their profits. The South African government has not provided Sasol with any incentive to curb their emissions; rather they are being rewarded for their toxic business model which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2019-07-30\/eskom-sasol-emit-over-half-of-south-africa-s-greenhouse-gas\">contributes 11%<\/a> of South Africa&#8217;s greenhouse gas emissions. What will Sasol do with the R6.5bn in carbon tax that they avoided? If it is not spent on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2019\/04\/52eea778-jt-case-studies-report.pdf?_ga=2.223793819.1074458308.1602665296-1588408287.1600445861\">just transition<\/a>, it will be money criminally wasted, with lives lost to air pollution in the name of wretched excess.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">ENDS<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons aligncenter is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-cta\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/act.greenpeace.org\/page\/48801\/petition\/1?_ga=2.127338573.1560410628.1602669248-1015648198.1597646857\">join the fight against the climate crisis<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contact details<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chris Vlavianos: Greenpeace Africa Communications Officer, +2779 883 7036, <a>cvlavian@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Greenpeace Africa calls on all South Africans to join the fight against the climate crisis. Demand the government declare a climate emergency and hold polluters accountable. You can support the movement by signing <a href=\"https:\/\/act.greenpeace.org\/page\/48801\/petition\/1?_ga=2.127338573.1560410628.1602669248-1015648198.1597646857\">this petition<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<section\n\t\t\tclass=\"boxout post-3960 \"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Image\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-card-overlay\"\n\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/act\/environmentalinjustice\/\" \n\t\t\t><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2018\/10\/e1bb9b80-gp03cd5-1024x682.jpg\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2018\/10\/e1bb9b80-gp03cd5-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2018\/10\/e1bb9b80-gp03cd5-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2018\/10\/e1bb9b80-gp03cd5-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2018\/10\/e1bb9b80-gp03cd5-510x340.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-africa-stateless\/2018\/10\/e1bb9b80-gp03cd5.jpg 1199w\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 358px, (min-width: 780px) 313px, 88px\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\talt=\"International Convention Center Occupation. \u00a9 Shayne Robinson\" title=\"International Convention Center Occupation. \u00a9 Shayne Robinson\"\n\t\t\t\t\/>\n            \t\t\t<div class=\"boxout-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"boxout-heading medium\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Title\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/act\/environmentalinjustice\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tEnd Climate Change\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                                    <a\n                        class=\"btn btn-primary\"\n                        data-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n                        data-ga-action=\"Call to Action\"\n                        data-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n                        href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/act\/environmentalinjustice\/\"\n                        \n                    >\n                        Get Involved\n                    <\/a>\n                \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sasol, South Africa&#8217;s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, received a R6.5 billion boost in profits last year as a result of their exemption from carbon tax<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":8943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"not set","p4_local_project":"not set","p4_basket_name":"not set","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[26,65],"p4-page-type":[14],"class_list":["post-12408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspirethemovement","tag-energy","tag-southafrica","p4-page-type-press"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12408"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49943,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12408\/revisions\/49943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12408"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=12408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}