COP28: Coalition demands end to fossil fuels expansion in Africa

COP28: Coalition demands end to fossil fuels expansion in Africa

A coalition of civil society groups has demanded an end to fossil fuel explorations and extractive crimes in Africa with enforced regulations which uphold accountability and responsibility.

The coalition made the demand on Friday in Dubai at a side event of the ongoing global climate change conference known as COP28.

The groups said extractive crimes must cease immediately, and governments must enforce and strengthen regulations to ensure proper accountability and responsibility.

The transition to cleaner energy, the coalition said, must ensure that frontline communities are fully integrated in decision-making and have the right to reject destructive extractive activities just as the people of Ecuador did in August 2023.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the side event was organised by the Oilwatch Africa and the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).

Discussants at the event called for payment of ecological debt owed to the Global South, elimination of energy poverty, and a rejection of land grabbing or green colonialism.

In her contribution, the Executive Director of Kebetkache Women Development Center, Emem Okon, regretted that women face lots of challenges due to mindless extractive activities.

“Grassroots women in the Niger Delta are very vulnerable to environmental degradation. Women contribute immensely to the local economy with a heavy reliance on environmental resources.

“This exposes them to the disruptive impacts of land grabs, gas flaring, and oil spillages,” she said.

Okon also lamented the rate at which women were excluded from decision-making processes, thus complicating their dilemma.

She stressed that as women face violence due to fossil fuel extraction and climate change, there is a need to integrate their roles, concerns, and interests in decision-making.

Also speaking, the Project Officer in charge of the Youth Desk, Ukpono Bassey, called for youth involvement in the fight against environmental degradation.

“This is the time for youth to be involved in leadership; after 28 COPs, it is evident that the elders have fallen short.

“The baton must be passed to the youth who are ready and compelled to take charge.

“The time for change is now – a change that ensures a sustainable future for generations to come,” he said.

Sharing the same sentiment, Odudabasi Asuquo, Project officer, Oilwatch Africa, described as unacceptable the rush for investment in fossil fuels, at the time the world was seeking an end to oil extractions due to its impact on climate change.

This, she said, was an assault on the sensitive ecosystems and vulnerable communities.

She said some communities in Uganda, Senegal, Namibia, and Botswana needed global solidity to ensure ecological justice.

Stephen Oduware, the coordinator of Fishnet Alliance, on his part, decried the challenges faced by fisher folks through diverse false climate solutions including the use of water bodies as carbon sinks or for risky experimentation.

“Coastal communities across Africa are gradually disappearing due to coastal erosion. They are gravely impacted by the impacts from the mindless exploration and exploitation of crude oil and gas.

“These communities are predominantly fishing and farming communities whose livelihoods, including their rights to a pollution-free environment, have been taken away by powerful corporations, with the complicity of governments,” he said.

The Coordinator, Oilwatch International, Kentebe Ebiaridor, bemoaned the failure of the COP28 to negotiate and make a clear decision on how to phase out fossil fuels.

He also regretted the undue influence of the fossil fuels lobby at the COP.

According to him, giving new permits for crude oil and gas violates any hope of meeting the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.

(NAN)