Greenpeace has called on the oil giants not to respond favorably to the initiative of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to auction, at the end of this month, 27 oil blocks and 3 gas blocks.
In a statement published on its website on Tuesday, the international environmental NGO « warns the world’s largest oil and gas companies about their participation in a major oil and gas auction in the DRC planned at the end of July”.
She informs that she has sent letters to oil companies on both sides of the world, in which the red alert is launched against this ominous auction, which could take place, to the detriment of biodiversity and the climate. global.
The NGO believes that “this massive auction overlaps peatlands and several protected areas”. According to her, the local communities are fiercely opposed to this project. Greenpeace refers to a recent field visit by its Africa Forest Campaign officers to four of the designated oil blocks.
According to the testimonies collected, local communities would be shocked by the possible auction of their land to oil companies. Some of them see future oil exploration as a direct threat to the lake they have depended on for generations and plan to resist it.
“This auction not only mocks the image of the DRC as a solution to the climate crisis, it exposes Congolese people to the corruption, violence and poverty that inevitably come with the oil curse. , as well as more heat waves and less rain for all Africans,” says Irène Wabiwa, International Project Manager for the Congo Basin Forests Campaign at Greenpeace Africa.
And to continue, « the international community and the Congolese government must end the neo-colonial rush for African fossil fuels by limiting the access of oil companies to the DRC, and instead focus on ending energy poverty by supporting the development of clean and decentralized renewable energies”.
The NGO says it is unaware of the oil companies which would intend to participate in the auction, but welcomes the fact that, thanks to a petition launched by it with local and international partners, nearly 100,000 people are calling the Congolese head of state, Felix Tshisekedi, not to sacrifice the tropical forest to the oil industry.
Finally, Greenpeace Africa calls on the governments of the continent to put the interest of their people before the greed of rich nations and their multinationals by accelerating investments in renewable, clean and decentralized energies. She also urges all oil and gas companies to refrain from participating in the neo-colonial scramble for African fossil fuels.
By OMA Newsletter N° 787 of 20/07/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
