Africa
TODAY at the COP27 Climate Summit, activists from Uganda and Tanzania, the African countries where the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, EACOP, is set to be constructed, called on Japan’s megabank MUFG Bank not to support the controversial fossil fuel project.
African activists intervened at a side event held by MUFG Bank inside the COP27 conference venue saying: “We want you to state that you will not support EACOP,” and “Continued support for Total, which is advancing EACOP, will encourage the climate crisis in Africa. That would also be inconsistent with the policy of the MUFG Bank,” he said. In response, Masamichi Kono, Senior Advisor to the Global Advisory Board of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, responded that he could not comment on individual cases.
Spearheaded by TotalEnergies (Total), EACOP would be the world’s longest heated crude oil pipeline project at 1,443 km, which, if completed, would result in annual CO2 emissions of over 34 million tonnes, more than the entire current combined emissions of its host countries Uganda and Tanzania. Alongside its contribution to the climate crisis, there’s great concern about the impacts on the environment, people’s lives and livelihoods, including human rights violations associated with the project, as people across Africa, and the world, continue to protest the project. To date, MUFG Bank has not responded to citizens’ groups asking whether or not it will support EACOP.
Of Japan’s three megabanks, there are concerns about the involvement of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) in EACOP in particular, as it acts as a financial advisor to Total. Meanwhile, Mizuho Bank has publicly distanced itself from the project, stating that it will not support EACOP unless environmental and social issues are amicably resolved. SMBC and MUFG Bank should follow Mizuho bank’s lead and that of more than 24 banks and 18 (re)insurers around the world, and promptly announce its decision not to support EACOP.
Omar Elmawi, Coordinator – Stop EACOP Coalition said,
“The negative impacts of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline on the communities, livelihoods, the environment and climate are undeniable. As climate impacts worsen, it is well past time to pull the plug on finance to fossil fuels projects such as EACOP. We urge financial institutions that remain non-committal about whether or not they will finance EACOP, to take a strong stance against the project, otherwise they are complicit in fuelling the climate crisis and its catastrophic impacts.”
KN
Tags: COP27 Climate Summit
