<
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/aug/17/lets-heed-the-uns-dire-warning-and-stop-the-east-african-oil-pipeline-now>
"If there is one world leader trying to look out for the planet as a whole, not
just their own nation, it’s the UN secretary general. Last week, António
Guterres was resolute in the wake of the damning report from the IPCC on the
perilious climate crisis. It should, he said, sound “a death knell for coal and
fossil fuels, before they destroy our planet”.
He called for an end to “all new fossil fuel exploration and production”, and
told countries to shift fossil fuel subsidies into renewable energy.
One of the first tests of whether anyone is paying attention will be if
somebody rips up the plans for what would be the world’s longest heated crude
oil pipeline – the 1,443km (900-mile) east African crude oil pipeline (EACOP)
that will run from oilfields in Uganda to the ocean ports of Tanzania. If it
gets built, it’s is a sure sign that the world’s leaders are not listening.
The Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide-USA (ELAW-USA) estimates that burning
the 210,000 barrels of oil a day that will be transported by the pipeline will
produce more than 34m metric tonnes of carbon annually. This is significantly
greater than the current combined emissions of Uganda and Tanzania.
So far, the Chinese national oil company, French oil giant Total, and the
governments of Uganda and Tanzania are pressing ahead, apparently putting the
money that can be made ahead of the interests of the climate.
Even on purely economic terms, it’s a terrible bargain. In 2015, the Ugandan
government estimated that climate crisis damages will collectively amount to
2-4% of the country’s gross domestic product between 2010 and 2050."
Via Robert Sanscartier.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
