Our demand:

We’re asking Félix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to cancel the tendering of 16 oil blocks scheduled for 28-29 July.  We’re seeking to prevent a climate catastrophe and protect the rights of the vulnerable populations living in areas targeted for oil exploration.

Why are we asking for this?

On 8 April 2022 – only a few months after the signature of a $500 million accord with donors at COP26 in Glasgow – the DRC government approved a plan to auction off 27 oil and 3 gas blocks, of which nine are in the ultra-sensitive Central Cuvette region. Three of the blocks are located in a peatland zone representing a veritable carbon bomb.  

The Cuvette Centrale peatlands, straddling the border of the two Congos, are the world’s biggest tropical peatland complex, estimated to store some 30 gigatonnes of carbon, equivalent to three years’ worth of global CO2 emissions. Due to its inaccessibility, little is yet known about the rich biodiversity of its irreplaceable ecosystems. Over half of the peatlands are located in DRC, which is home to 60% of the world’s second largest tropical forest. Contrary to repeated assurances from Congo’s Oil Minister, no fewer than nine of the oil blocks up for auction overlap protected areas.

The science is clear: governments must halve CO2 emissions by the end of the decade and immediately halt the development of any new fossil fuel projects (oil, coal and gas). The Congolese government's plan to drill for oil undermines global efforts to tackle the climate crisis and threatens the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

And the responsibility for this impending catastrophe is shared: the agreement signed at COP26 does nothing to prevent oil exploration in the peatlands and protected areas, as long as “mitigation” measures are taken.

An oil auction a few weeks before pre-COP27 meetings to be held in Kinshasa and in the middle of the forest, at Yangambi : what an idea!

Despite the outcry and calls to respect science, the DRC government is preparing to further trash the rule of law and destroy one of the world’s most delicate ecosystems in contempt of the rights of local communities and the fight against climate change.