Expert report by UCL professor key to halting production of natural gas at a UNESCO Heritage Site

Professor Marais was commissioned by the South African nonprofit law clinic, Centre for Environmental Rights, on behalf of their clients, to provide expert critique of Renergen/Tetra4’s assessments of the environmental and climate change impacts

Companies intending to extract fossil fuels need to gain environmental authorisation from the South African government by submitting environmental impact and climate change impact assessments that demonstrate compliance with the National Environmental Management Act.

Tetra4 applied for authorisation to establish 100s of new conventional natural gas drilling wells at the world’s largest and oldest known meteorite impact crater, a UNESCO world heritage property, located in the Free State province of South Africa that could lead to the extraction of up to 45 million cubic feet of natural gas per day for 20 years.

Professor Marais identified that Tetra4 used outdated science to estimate the climate warming potential of the potent greenhouse gas methane that constitutes about 90% of natural gas. Tetra4 also did not consider the high rates of methane leakage that can occur during extraction, production, transport and storage of natural gas which puts the climate warming potential of natural gas on par with other fossil fuels like coal, diesel and petrol. Tetra4 also did not account for all the sources of public health-harming air pollutants emitted along the full lifespan of the project, from establishing drilling sites to decommissioning and rehabilitating the site.

The report by Professor Marais, alongside a report by an expert geohydrologist of the potential groundwater contamination, led to the decision by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment that the company must address deficiencies in their assessments for proper determination of compliance with environmental governance.

Professor Marais said of the outcome that it is “really edifying to use findings from academic research to advocate against the establishment of new fossil fuel projects that would lead to additional dependence on fossil fuels in a country that doesn’t have the means to monitor and enforce compliance, routinely experiences devastating extreme weather events attributable to anthropogenic climate change, and is lagging its Paris Climate Accord commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Paul Lado, attorney at the Centre for Environmental Rights, said that the “decision to set aside and remit Tetra4’s application back to the initial decision-maker is a win for the environmental justice movement at large. Our client’s briefing of experts to attest to the shortcomings in Tetra4’s specialist studies around climate change and geohydrology were instrumental in the outcome of the appeal decision. The Minister specifically stated that the concerns raised in the report of Professor Marais should be addressed in ordering Tetra4 to reassess the climate change impacts of their proposed extraction project. The relationship between lawyers and their clients with academics is crucial in ensuring that environmental justice, a key human right, is realised.”

More information

• Visit Professor Marais’ Academic Staff Profile
• Meteorite impact crater UNESCO Heritage page
• Earth Justice
• Centre for Environmental Rights
• Visit Professor Marais' research group: Atmospheric Composition and Air Quality Group