Globally, clean air is being seen as a human right, even in dictatorial parts of the world, which has seen vigorous public protest against air pollution that damages health.

People of the world are demanding that air ceases to contain particles that penetrate their lungs and cause illness, with the mayors of big cities rallying to rid their urban areas of poor- quality air.

Against this background, the Fossil Fuel Foundation is to be complimented for holding last week’s workshop on climate change and air quality and allowing the coal industry to open itself to intense criticism and self-reflection.

It was the correct openness to display because the robustness of the responses to questioning indicated the urgent need for the deployment of clean coal technology to avoid the kind of litigation that the gold industry has been forced to face from silicosis sufferers.

Last month, a class action settlement was reached with thousands of mineworkers suffering from silicosis caused by bad below-ground air. What the responses highlighted was the poor state of above-ground air, particularly in Mpumlanga, where the heavy concentration of coal-fired power stations is probably without peer.

While new coal-fired power stations like Medupi and Kusile will have the benefit of modern desulphurisation technology, what happens in the case of existing power stations? What is available to lower the sulphur emissions of the ageing stations, and what will be the consequences for the Department of Environmental Affairs for failing to enforce compliance on Eskom?

Firstly, the University of the Witwatersrand’s centre for clean coal technology can help with co-firing, which lowers sulphur emission with the help of biomass and, secondly, the litigious nature of South Africa’s modern society means that Eskom will in all likelihood be forced to comply, whether it likes it or not.

The right thing is for coal burners to rise to the challenge even before the environmental authorities make it impossible for them to escape compliance and, in that way, also avoid the double blow of having to pay out billions of rands to bringers of successful class actions.

Simultaneously, South Africa Inc should be going all out to promote the wonderful role that platinum can play in catalysing the destruction of vehicle emissions and emissions in general.

Many other countries are taking the lead in promoting platinum and all South Africa needs to do is, in the spirit of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address, ‘thuma mina’ and ‘lend a hand’.

It needs to make its presence felt at all the world’s fuel cell and hydrogen forums, it needs to take up membership of all the transport decarbonisation alliances, it needs to be at the meetings with the mayors of the world who are determined to stop dangerous dirt from entering people’s lungs and it needs to put its money where its mouth is by imposing anti-emission best practice on the streets of its own big cities.