The policy brief introduces basic concepts around the complexities of steelmaking, including why it has historically been seen as ‘hard to abate’ in terms of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from steel production. It aims to provide a non-technical commentary on AMSA’s Decarbonisation Roadmap suitable for frontline communities and the NGOs they work with to understand and engage with the plans.
Over the past decades, significant safety improvements have been made to nuclear plants as lessons from nuclear accidents have been integrated into reactor design. These are so significant that, France now considers older plants - identical to SA's Koeberg - to be unsafe. Consequently, in extending the life of these plants, France is undertaking significant safety improvements. As public hearings into the life extension of Koeberg get underway, we ask: how do France's upgrades compare to those being implemented by Koeberg?
In July 2022, Eskom submitted a Safety Case Report (SCR) on the Koberg Nuclear Power Station to South Africa’s National Nuclear Regulator (NNR), as part of the efforts to extend Koberg’s lifetime. Unfortunately, Eskom refused to make the SCR public, despite its significance to public interest. In January 2023, a heavily redacted version was released to the public, and in June 2023, following court action, the report was released in full. This publication compares the various versions of the SCR with the intention of highlighting what information Eskom sought to conceal.
