EACOP gets major boost as CPA-EU parliament backs project
There has been a major boost to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline(EACOP) after the Caribbean, Pacific-European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly (CPA-EU) made an amendment in one of its resolutions on climate change.
The same has been described as a greenlight for Uganda and Tanzania’s East African Crude Oil Pipeline project.
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The CPA-EU Assembly, which brings together an equal number of elected MPs from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states and Members of the European Parliament on Wednesday made changes to “Operative Clause 5” of its resolution on the Global Challenges of Climate Change Cooperation for Adaptation and Migration.
The resolution was passed ahead of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference scheduled for November 18, 2022 in Egypt initially called for a ban on all new oil exploration projects.
It read in part, “…achieving the 1.5 ° C target, requires that no new oil gases fields be approved, nor any new coal mine or extensions to existing ones.”
However, in the CPA-EU session held in Maputo, Mozambique, the MPs from around the world voted to make changes in the resolution, to allow a global “just transition” to renewable energy.
The parliament in the new amendment as such “acknowledged the importance of fair phase out and gradual transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, stressing that the achieving the 1.5 ° C target requires the drastic scaling up of renewable energy and supporting a global just transition.”
According to the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, the amendment was tabled on the floor by Tanzanian Deputy Speaker Musa Azzan Zungu and Edmund Hinkson of Barbados.
“This is a big win for EACOP as the African, Carribean, Pacific-European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Maputo adopts an amendment that allows us to explore our oil and gas industry. We committed to do this in a responsible and sustainable way but also invest more in renewables,”Tayebwa tweeted.
"I want to thank the Deputy Speaker of Tanzania Musa Azzan Zungu and Edmund Hinkson of Barbados who sponsored the resolution on our behalf, Gladys Jepkosgei Boss Shollei (Deputy Speaker of the Kenya National Assembly ) for the support, team Uganda for burning the mid night candle lobbying and the European Parliament for understanding listening to us.”
The development comes two months after the European Union Parliament passed a resolution to say that there are so many human rights violations, environmental issues and lack of compensation to people affected by the pipeline works.
Activists have since started a move to ensure the project doesn’t go on noting that there is need to reduce carbon emissions coming off oil production.
However, both Uganda and Tanzania blasted the EU Parliament over the call to have the project suspended.
“Some of these people(EU MPs) are insufferable. You(EU MPs) need to control yourself not to explode.(They are) so shallow, so egocentric and so wrong that they think they know everything broadcasting their ignorance all over the place but they should calm down. This is a wrong battleground for them,” President Museveni said recently.
“A young girl is lecturing me what to do in Uganda! I think somebody should counsel those young people. The EU parliament has got much work to do in their own place and I would advise them to spend much time to help some of our people there. East Africa has got capable people who know what to do.”
The General Manager for TotalEnergies EP Uganda, Philippe Groueix said, “There is no debate about that but how we do it matters. We will for the next 20 or 30 years need oil. There is market and space for Ugandan oil project in this world landscape. There is space for Uganda’s oil. Today the energy consumption is 80% and while we have the urgency of climate change, you can’t shift from 80% to zero in one day. There is a transition period
