Victory! Wild Coast saved
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Wild Coast is saved from Shell’s blasts
Since 2021 Shell, Impact Africa, and BG International have been looking to use seismic blasting in the Wild Coast area of South Africa. Seismic blasting is the firing of high-powered airguns every 10 seconds and measuring the echoes to detect cavities under the seabed. In South Africa’s Wild Coast, this means blasting in some of the most pristine, biodiverse waters on Earth, tearing through whale migration routes, fish nurseries, and the ocean resources that entire communities depend on to survive.
On the 9th of December, 2021, a two-part legal battle began to halt Shell’s and Impact Africa’s seismic blasting, first seeking an immediate stop, and second, seeking a complete halt to oil exploration on the Wild Coast. South Africa's energy minister (Gwede Mantashe) defended the oil trio’s plans for seismic blasting oil exploration along a pristine coastal stretch of South Africa. Lawyers, on behalf of activists, argued and won the first case on December 28th: a temporary halt was imposed for seismic blasting.
Expert legal teams, scientists, and grassroots activists were key, collaborating to make the case; infusing activist energy, morals and standards; bringing scientific evidence and legal expertise together to win part one of the court case.
Shell and Impact Africa keep on trying to ruin our planet and unsuccessfully appealed this decision on February 17th 2022. Shell has known as far back as the 1980s, through research by their own scientists, that extracting and burning oil and gas drives up CO² emissions and catastrophic global warming.
On May 30, 2022, part two of the court case started, to permanently stop oil exploration on the Wild Coast. Later that year, the High Court nullified Shell’s and Impact Africa’s license for seismic blasting.
We defeated Shell and Impact Africa again!
Of course, Shell and its partner in crime, Impact Africa, together with South Africa’s minister for energy, weren’t finished yet. They filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Appeal. Surprisingly, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that climate wouldn’t be affected, but Shell had tried to cut corners on the initial application for oil exploration, so the license remained null and void.
We defeated Shell and Impact Africa again!
To prevent Shell from pursuing further oil exploration at the Wild Coast (and beyond), and to ensure this ruling is about what really matters, activists, experts, and the legal team filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court. This victory is a collaborative effort between Wild Coast communities, Sustaining the Wild Coast, All Rise Attorneys, Natural Justice, and grassroots organisations, including Fridays for Future, who filed petitions with the Constitutional Court against an order of the Supreme Court of Appeal. On 14 August 2026, the Constitutional Court ruled that the High Court’s decisions should not have been overruled by the Supreme Court of Appeal, permanently shutting down oil and gas exploration in the area.
We defeated Shell and Impact Africa again!
All the details of the court case can be found here.
It’s important to note that the initial push to protest and to start a court case came from activists. Grassroots organizing put this subject in the spotlight, and many people came together to make this a success for the Wild Coast, including friends of this Newsletter.
Another thing to note came from the Constitutional Court’s final remarks: If this case had been filed initially with the Constitutional Court, it could have ruled that current and future generations have a constitutional right to a safe environment. We can still make this case.
To be continued…
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