WATCH: Will South Africa’s new climate change laws save our beaches — and our health?

Members of Bambanani Co-operative in Snake Park tend to their sunflower crop on the slopes of White Mountain, a tailings storage facility left over from gold mining
Members of Bambanani Co-operative in Snake Park tend to their sunflower crop on the slopes of White Mountain, a tailings storage facility left over from gold mining (Thokozile Mntambo)
  • COP29 is over, but the destruction of climate change continues.
  • Residents of Snake Park in Soweto link their lung problems to a nearby mine tailings dam, where toxic waste is stored. And with more frequent floods and winds because of climate change, the dam could burst. 
  • They’ve even blamed the dam for cerebral palsy among children in the community.
  • It’s possible, say scientists, while Environment Minister Dion George says it’s time for dirty industries to come clean.
  • Travel with us to Snake Park and hear what the minister has to say about Cape Town’s beaches — and if you’d be paying tax for driving a petrol or diesel car soon.
 

This story was produced by the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. Sign up for the newsletter.

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