IN THE fight to improve South Africa’s often poor air quality, the government is introducing stricter emissions standards for industry that many of South Africa’s heavy emitters say they cannot meet, and the Department of Environmental Affairs agrees that helping communities stop burning dirty fuels in the home would have greater impact on ambient air quality.While there is no way industry should be given carte blanche on emissions, the Air Quality Act’s new emissions standards, which kick in from April 2020, will address only about 20% of the problem."If you look at it (air quality in South Africa), the problem is in the home," says the department’s air quality management chief director, Thuli Mdluli. "If you invested (money assigned to industrial pollution control equipment) in the community to stop home burning, it would have a far higher impact on human health," she says.The department has had applications for the postponement of, or exemption from, the newly legislated emission...
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