#StopEACOP Global Protests Target Chinese Companies
Activists have protested against a number of Chinese companies to try to stop them investing in the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. The proposed fossil fuel project would run almost 500 kilometers through Uganda and Tanzania and displace almost 200,000 people.
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00:00 We've just seen protests around the world as part of this global movement against ECOP,
00:05 the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline.
00:08 But the pipeline has been a long time in the making, decades.
00:13 Can you tell us why these protests are just happening now?
00:16 What's the latest development?
00:18 So for many years, the campaign has been quite successful in ensuring that numerous commercial
00:24 banks and financial institutions, as well as insurers and reinsurers, have made public
00:29 commitments that they will not give support or throw their weight behind the ECOP, East
00:35 African Crude Oil Pipeline project.
00:38 And to date, there's 27 major commercial banks and 24 insurers that have made those public
00:44 commitments.
00:45 And in the wake of that, what we have seen recently is that the Ugandan authorities,
00:50 the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, has been scrambling to make additional deals with Chinese
00:58 entities, various Chinese institutions and state-owned entities, who are now stepping
01:02 up to play a more active role in providing finance and insurance support for the project.
01:11 And so these protests that were held yesterday, there were eight different protests across
01:15 the globe, in the DRC, in Uganda, in Tanzania, in South Africa, in the U.S., in London, and
01:22 in Paris.
01:24 And those actions were taking the message, very clear message, to those various Chinese
01:31 entities and state-owned corporations to say that they should not get involved.
01:36 We do not want them to come in and be the last resort for dirty energy and environmental
01:44 and socioeconomic harm in Africa.
01:47 So do you think that this is happening more now that Chinese entities and companies are
01:51 kind of investing in fossil fuels in Africa?
01:55 Are they sort of replacing, perhaps, Western companies?
01:59 Is this what we're seeing?
02:00 Look, I wouldn't say that they are replacing Western companies, because Western companies
02:05 are still incredibly active across the continent in numerous, incredibly harmful and destructive
02:13 projects, as they have been since the colonial era through until now.
02:19 But what we are seeing--and a big part of it is a result of the kind of changing geopolitical
02:27 arena and the so-called Cold War between the East and the West in this current moment--but
02:33 we definitely are seeing, you know, various Chinese institutions and state actors coming
02:39 into Africa and playing a similar role to that which the West has played over hundreds
02:46 of years, and, you know, coming in and trying to extract as much as possible as they continue,
02:52 you know, to compete with existing superpowers on the global stage.
02:57 Have there been instances of, you know, human rights abuses when it comes to the infrastructure
03:02 projects that they're building out?
03:05 Absolutely.
03:06 In the case of ECOP, the entire project, since the time of its kind of implementation and
03:14 through the land acquisition process, has been surrounded in all manner of human rights
03:21 violations and abuses, including, you know, the forced relocation and dispossession of
03:26 tens of thousands of families.
03:28 And as a result, many of them have lost their livelihoods, unable to put food on the table
03:36 for their families, unable to send their children to school.
03:40 But we've also seen in the Ugandan context specifically, as well as in Tanzania, where
03:47 land defenders and environmental and human rights defenders are criminalized for taking
03:52 action and for asserting their opposition to this project.
03:57 And so that is very much a violation of their right to protest, but it is also a denial
04:02 of their legitimate stake, especially for young people, the legitimate stake that they
04:07 have in projects such as these, which stand to have a huge impact on their lives and on
04:13 their futures.
04:15 And so, you know, we are seeing these abuses, which in many ways are inherent to the entirety
04:21 of the fossil fuel industry, and specifically the way in which that industry operates and
04:25 has operated for a long time on the African continent, you know, in a way that is completely
04:32 rooted in, you know, relentless extraction, exploitation and all manner of environmental
04:41 devastation.
04:42 But so many countries around the world are addicted to fossil fuels and many have made
04:48 climate targets and commitments.
04:50 But what do you think is really the best way to stop ECOP and to make sure that fossil
04:56 fuels are ramped down as quickly as possible?
04:59 Look, what we need is a strong and viable, realistic alternative to projects like ECOP.
05:09 And in order to create that, in order to make sure that the type of development that we
05:15 pursue is one which genuinely meets the needs, including the energy needs of people on the
05:22 African continent, you know, these alternatives must be rooted in the experiences, the aspirations
05:28 and the agency of communities who stand on the front lines.
05:32 And so that is what we are advocating for in the case of ECOP, is we need a paradigm
05:36 shift essentially.
05:37 We need, you know, we need to put an end to an industry which pursues profits above all
05:44 else and replace it with an economy of care, one which is designed primarily with the core
05:52 interests of meeting the needs of all our people.
05:54 [ Silence ]