Tag Archives: Indigenous Rights

Don’t Bank on EACOP

French oil company Total and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are pushing for the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), the longest heated pipeline in the world, transporting about 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Uganda to the Tanga port in Tanzania. The project threatens to displace thousands of families and farmers from their land. The land acquisition process has already begun, raising the question whether the rights of indigenous communities to Free, Prior and Informed Consent has been respected in accordance with international standards.

Total is facing a historical lawsuit in France for its failure to prevent human rights violations and environmental damage linked to these oil exploration projects. Total’s decision to move forward with opening a new oil frontier in Africa is in contradiction to their communication strategy that depicts the oil major as climate conscious, responsible, multi-energy company. Extraction of oil in Uganda generates up to 34 million tons of carbon emissions each year. EACOP will bring climate chaos and biodiversity loss and is already causing serious human rights violations. We need to #StopEACOP.

Building the biggest heated oil pipeline in the world is very expensive. Total and CNOOC are in need of a 3 billion USD debt finance from some of the world’s largest commercial banks to get this project off the ground. Standard Bank, through its subsidiary Stanbic Uganda, along with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), are acting as financial advisors to the project. These banks are expected to serve as lead arrangers, meaning they will need to approach other banks to co-finance the deal. The #StopEACOP alliance has written to each of those banks, urging them to rule out supporting EACOP in any way publicly. Thanks to the international mobilization, 24 banks have already pulled out. Below we list the banks in three groups:

Banks actively supporting EACOP: Standard Bank (South Africa), ICBC (China).
Banks that declined to answer or do not rule out to finance EACOP: Agricltural Bank of China (China), Bank of China (China), China Construction Bank (China), China International Capital Bank (China), BBVA (Spain), OCBC Bank (Singapore), Goldman Sachs (USA), Bank of America (USA).
Banks that ruled out to support EACOP project: SMBC (Japan), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (Japan), Standard Chartered (UK), Santander (Spain), Natixis (France), Investec (South Africa), ANZ (Australia), CityGroup (USA), Barclays (UK), First Rand (South Africa), Credit Agricole (France), Deutsche Bank (Germany), BNP Paribas (France), Credit Suisse (Switzerland), HCBC (UK), Mizuho (Japan), Morgan Stanley (USA), Royal Bank of Canada (Canada), JP Morgan (USA), UniCredit (Italy), Societe Generale (France), Nedbank (South Africa), UOP (Singapore), Wells Fargo (USA), DZ Bank (Germany), Intesa SanPaolo (Italy).

YOU can still send your own message to the banks that are most likely to consider financing the pipeline. Support the #StopEACOP campaign! Though lots needs to be done to limit climate change and create a better future for everyone, it is clear that stopping the East African Crude Oil Pipeline is a critical first step.

Stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline

We are suffering from record heatwaves and unprecedented wildfires in Europe. It is outrageous that fossil fuel companies are continuing to dig and drill in the face of intensifying climate disasters. And despite record temperatures, banks are continuing to fund new oil pipelines and gas fields. French oil company Total and majority state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are on the verge of constructing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which will transport an estimated 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Kabaale, Uganda to the Tanga port in Tanzania. In order to transport the waxy crude oil, the pipeline will need to be heated to a temperature of 50 Degrees Celsius. The project threatens to displace thousands of families and farmers from their land. The land acquisition process has already begun, raising the question whether the rights of indigenous communities to Free, Prior and Informed Consent has been respected in accordance with international standards. Extraction of oil in Uganda generate up to 34 million tons of carbon emissions each year. EACOP will run along Lake Victoria, the African continent’s largest freshwater reserve which sources the Nile and which 40 million people rely on for drinking water and food production.

Building the world’s longest heated crude oil pipeline is incredibly risky business – especially when it runs through an active seismic zone, like the EACOP will. There is a great risk that an oil spill from the pipeline poisons Lake Victoria and millions of Africans will no longer have access to drinkable water. Without insurances to cover the risks, the project cannot go ahead. The world’s top four international reinsurers, Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re and SCOR have already stated that they will not reinsure the EACOP because of environmental and social concerns. We need to stop EACOP, here is what you can do:

Tell insurer Lloyd’s to stay out off EACOP. You can either send them a comment on LinkedIn (requires a LinkedIn login), send a calendar invite or give them a call.
Send a message to the CEOs of several insurers to abstain from providing (re)insurance to the EACOP project.
Demand insurance broker Marsh to drop the EACOP project.

East Africa’s economic strength will come from recognizing the region’s biodiversity, heritage and natural landscapes not from reckless fossil fuel projects. Support the #StopEACOP campaign! Though lots needs to be done to limit climate change and create a better future for everyone, it is clear that stopping the East African Crude Oil Pipeline is a critical first step.

Bolsonaro accused of ecocide

Indigenous leaders Almir Surui and Raoni Metuktire have come together to present a formal request to the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in the Dutch city of The Hague, to investigate far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro for committing crimes against humanity, specifically targeting indigenous peoples, within the broader context of environmental crimes. With the assistance of William Bourdon, a French attorney, they officially filed a request for preliminary investigation into Bolsonaro’s crimes to the ICC on January 22, 2021. They are accusing Bolsonaro of crimes against humanity, including also ecocide. Ecocide refers to a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, committed in the broader context of environmental crimes.

On August 5, 2021, the Brazil’s Indigenous People Articulation (ABIP), a coalition of Indigenous associations across the country, filed a second statement before the ICC, accusing Bolsonaro’s government of genocide and crimes against humanity due to its role in alleged crimes perpetrated against their community during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to claims by the indigenous tribes, Jair Bolsonaro was responsible for more than 1,160 deaths.

We also want to point to the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex in Brazil which has been approved in 2005 despite the absence of the legally required environmental impact assessment and consultations with affected indigenous communities. Netzdemo Portal protests against Belo Monte and other mega dams in the Amazon region – you can become a part of it:

http://kaltech11.bravesites.com/action

At the climate conference COP26, Brazil signed the Glasgow declaration on forests and pledged to rein in illegal deforestation by 2028. But critics noted the declaration isn’t legally binding and that the Bolsonaro administration has been effectively legalizing deforestation that was once considered illegal, undercutting its commitment. Deforestation has been on an upward trend in the Brazilian Amazon since 2012. It has accelerated sharply under the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, who campaigned for opening up the rainforest to loggers, miners, ranchers, and industrial agriculture.

Online Protest against JBS Meat Industry

JBS is the world’s biggest meat packing company and single biggest supplier of beef, chicken and leather globally, with 350,000 customers in more than 150 countries. JBS has been repeatedly linked to suppliers found to be engaging in illegal deforestation in the region and operating illegally on protected Indigenous lands.

In July 2020, Amnesty International, with Réporter Brasil, revealed that cattle illegally grazed in protected areas of the Amazon state of Rondonia had entered the JBS supply chain. Fires and deforestation continue to take place on properties in JBS’ supply chain despite the company’s policies and international commitments.

JBS’ inability to control its Brazilian beef supply chains is responsible for deforestation in the Amazon and the loss of lands belonging to indigenous people. We will hold JBS accountable.

Netzdemo Portal will launch an online protest in support of #AmazonCeaseFire against JBS meat industries on September 18th, 2020, starting at 08:00 CEST

Join the online protest: http://odevenz.bravesites.com

Belo Monte will produce energy for mining

Belo Monte mega dam is being built on a river that runs almost dry a large part
of the year. This will be a very inefficient project – running at 10% of its
capacity during the driest months. The energy produced will go to mines that extract
resources that are then shipped to other countries. About 30 percent of the produced
energy will go to support the mining industry, while 70 percent of the energy produced
by the dam will go to households hundreds of miles away from the Xingu River. There is
no stopping this dam now. It has been approved by a short-sighted government that insists
this is the only solution to the energy needs of the country.

Norte Energia company, the concession-holder for the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam,
now control the water flow in the Volta Grande stretch of the Xingu River, a 100-km
area divided in three municipalities, with five indigenous villages along the riverbanks.
By opening or closing spillways and activating or shutting off its turbines, Norte Energia
dictates the water level downstream in the Xingu River. It’s clear that they do it without
considering the human and environmental impacts. Abrupt fluctuations in the volume of water
released in the Volta Grande due to the opening of spillways causes changes in the water
level in the river that confuse the aquatic fauna, disoriented by the availability of space
to feed and breed, according to ecologist Juarez Pezzuti, a professor at the Federal University of
Pará. Moreover, the reduced water flow has made navigation difficult in the Volta Grande,
the traditional transport route used by local people, increasing the need for land transport.

Vale, who owns aluminum and iron ore smelters nearby and is a 9% stakeholder in Norte Energia,
will purchase Belo Monte’s energy to fuel its mining expansion in the region. The energy would
also go to fuel the powerful industrial sector in south-east Brazil, which consumes 28.6% of
all electricity in the country, mainly in São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

Read more: Belo Monte Campaign blog by Netzdemo Portal.