Fridays for Future Uganda Team leader Hilda Flavia Nakabuye had no kind words to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP), a proposed 1,443-kilometre heated pipeline that will transport oil from Hoima, Uganda, to the port of Tanga in Tanzania, where the oil will then be sold onwards to world markets.
She said this during the workshop that was conducted to 2000 Agenda Hotel in Numugongo organised by Fridays For Future Uganda and Climate Clock on Monday, 22nd July, on the Climate Emergency Day.
The workshop, which attracted activists from different parts of Uganda, was aimed at creating awareness about the climate emergency.
“The East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP) must stop because over 2.3 billion metric tonnes of carbon are estimated to be produced by this project. And this is only for that exploration. So that means the transportation of the oil from one place to another will also have its own emissions that are not yet estimated. And these emissions, as we know, are contributing to the global emissions that are increasing the climate crisis,” Nakabuye Said.
Not of any benefit to the community
“The pipeline project has caused displacement of numerous people, impacting livelihoods, income sources, health, and education. It has also encroached on people’s land, displaced people in various cultures and traditional centres, and forced them to move to new locations. The project is not supporting local communities because it’s not providing jobs for the people. There are just a few temporary jobs with very little payment, which is not sustainable or sufficient for many of the people next to these communities,” she added.
Biodiversity is at Risk
Because the oil wells have been discovered in Murchison Falls, which is one of Uganda’s oldest and biggest national parks. And it’s one of the biggest sources of income when it comes to tourism in Uganda . Having these oil wells or oil extractions in a national park really puts a lot of animal species, you know, a lot of wildlife at risk.
The estimated impact of the pipeline on Lake Victoria, a critical area for biodiversity, is significant. Over 40 million livelihoods rely on the lake for survival, and any oil spills or dangerous activity could put life at risk. Studies from the Niger Delta show that oil drilling activities are no longer beneficial for the fish, highlighting the potential dangers of such projects.
How the youth were blindfolded
Prior to the start of this project, they sugarcoated it with youth involvement . Many youths were promised jobs to work in the “EACOP.” They enrolled to study courses related to “oil mining” at Makerere University, but up to now ,majority don’t have jobs. When they finished studying, they were told that they didn’t have the expertise to work with the oil mining companies. So the companies had to look for expertise from outside their country, which is not good for people in Uganda or the communities in Uganda that are currently studying these courses . So there’s no way there’s no way again; it’s going to benefit in terms of jobs.
Low economic value
The economic value from this project is very low. Given that total energies was given a tax holiday of 10 years, which is a tax exemption, and according to the EACOP Bill, they will only be allowed to pay 5% taxes from their profits that will be made, which is a very little contribution to the country yet the project will take about 20 years in operation. So, that means Ugandans will only be receiving a lower percentage of the profits that will come from the project. Also, Uganda as a country, only 15% profits from the project, which shows that this is a very little contribution because Total as a company owns 62% shares of this project. This shows that most of the profits that will be made will be going to Total Energies as a company. It will not benefit the people if you can do that since they only have 15%.
According to Hilda, the EACOP should not be funded because it’s increasing the climate crisis. It’s not a project for the people, and it’s not a project for the climate.
The #StopEACOP campaign is gathering momentum, building pressure on the remaining supporters and financiers of the East African crude oil pipeline. AEGIS London, Arch Capital Group Ltd., and Britam Holdings recently announced they would not offer the project insurance coverage. So far, 25 major banks and 23 major (re)insurers have ruled out support for the pipeline. Some financial institutions yet to commit to not funding EACOP include AIG, ICBC, MUFG, and SMBC.