East Africa – On Tuesday 1st February, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced a milestone in the highly controversial process to build the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) – a 1,443-kilometre crude oil pipeline from Hoima in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania that, if completed, would be the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world.

Museveni officially signed a Final Investment Decision (FID) for the EACOP project, sending the signal that it has the necessary financial backing required to go ahead. However, it is widely understood that this massive new fossil fuel project still faces a significant funding shortfall of at least $2.5billion.

Campaigners are stepping up efforts to ensure this fossil fuel finance is never made available. Many major banks have already ruled out supporting the project, while activists are now applying pressure to those that remain as potential funders. These banks include Japanese megabanks SMBC and MUFG, as well as: Standard Bank (South Africa), ICBC (China), JPMorgan Chase (USA), Standard Chartered (UK), Citi (US), and Deutsche Bank (Germany).

Landry Ninteretse, 350Africa.org Regional Director said:

“The future of East Africa relies on building sustainable, diversified and inclusive economies – not by letting huge multinational corporations like Total extract resources and keep the profit. The impacts of building the East Africa Oil Pipeline will be devastating for our communities, for wildlife and for the planet. But, despite yesterday’s announcement and the PR drive from fossil fuel supporters, EACOP is not inevitable. In fact, it needs billions of dollars from private banks around the world to become viable. Most of these banks have already distanced themselves from this controversial project. Together we can further pressure the reluctant ones and stop this fossil finance flowing into the East Africa region and instead support real solutions that not only safeguard the rights of the communities and protect the environment, but also deliver sustainable development for local communities.”

Eri Watanabe, 350.org Japan Finance Campaigner said:

“In agreeing to finance the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline, Japanese megabanks would be funding the displacement of households throughout Uganda and Tanzania, and threatening the social, environmental and economic well being of tens of thousands of citizens as well as destroying precious ecosystems in the region. If the EACOP project receives the required funding to complete what could be the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world, we will only be pushing the world further towards climate catastrophe. SMBC’s involvement as a financial advisor to this controversial project is especially problematic and in complete contradiction to its commitment to net zero portfolio emissions by 2050, and would only worsen their position as the world’s top financier of fossil fuel projects under the Equator Principles. Eleven banks have already pulled out of the devastating oil project, including Japanese bank Mizuho. It is time that SMBC and MUFG follow suit.”

Note to editors

EACOP facts:

Oil major Total and partners aim to construct a 1443 km crude oil pipeline and infrastructure to transport Uganda’s crude oil from Hoima in Uganda to Chongoleani peninsula near Tanga in Tanzania.

The project threatens the water resources and livelihoods of millions of people in the Lake Victoria basin, along with some of the world’s most important elephant, lion and chimpanzee nature reserves and would transport enough oil to generate over 34 million extra tons of carbon emissions each year.

For more information about the StopEACOP campaign please visit their website

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