South Africa: young people take coal to court

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What South Africa did

In November 2021, the African Climate Alliance, a youth-led organisation, together with the Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action and Groundwork Trust, filed proceedings challenging the South African government's decision to procure 1,500 MW of new coal-fired power. The applicants argued the decision violated constitutional rights, including the right to an environment not harmful to health or wellbeing, the best interests of children, and the rights to life, dignity and equality.

How it Delivered

In December 2024, the Pretoria High Court ruled in the applicants' favour, declaring the decision to procure new coal-fired power unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid. The Court found, among other failings, that the government had not properly considered the impact on the health and wellbeing of present and future generations of children. The judgment set a historic precedent: climate-related government decisions must align with constitutional rights, especially the right to a healthy environment and the best interests of children, affirming that choices taken today must not undermine the rights of those who come after.

What Made it Work?

The litigants grounded an argument about the future in rights that already exist. By centring children's interests, they gave intergenerational justice a face the law could recognise, and by combining youth leadership with experienced environmental justice organisations, they matched moral force with legal craft.

Future Generations Takeaway

Courts are becoming guardians of the long term. South Africa's young litigants showed that a constitution written for the present can be made to speak for the future. Keeping the future open sometimes means asking the law to hold the door.

This case study is based on one kindly shared with us by the us by School of International Futures (SOIF) and can be found in their digital implementation handbook: 'One Year in Practice: Stories of Global Action for Future Generations'.  We have updated and expanded some case studies with more recent developments and additional sources where relevant.