Summary/Abstract
This expert report was written by Nicholas King, and filed by plaintiffs in the case African Climate Alliance et al. v. Minister of Mineral Resources & Energy.
In this report, the author “provides an expert interpretation of a number of recent specialist reports on climate change as regards impacts on lives, livelihoods and lifestyles from 2021 onwards, through 2030, 2040 and beyond for today’s and tomorrow’s youth.” The author reviews literature and synthesizes, with varying levels of confidence, projected conditions under different emissions scenarios in three geographies across South Africa.
The underlying case, African Climate Alliance v. Minister of Mineral Resources & Energy, arose when, in November 2021, the African Climate Alliance (a youth-led organization), Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action, and Groundwork Trust, represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights filed proceedings in the High Court of South Africa to challenge the South African government’s decision to include 1,500 MW of new coal-fired power in the Integrated Resource Plan of 2019. For more information about this case, visit the Sabin Center’s Climate Litigation Database.
Note: This climate attribution research was presented in the context of a contested legal proceeding. Different countries, courts, and legal forums may have different standards for expert testimony, and may conduct fact-finding based on legal standards of proof that differ from those applied in academic publishing. Readers should independently investigate and understand the bases for the assertions made in this document before applying this research in other contexts.