Hi John, I’m Omar – a lawyer and campaigner with 350 Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya.
I’ve spent the past eight years trying to prevent the fossil fuel industry from expanding in East Africa.
I'm reaching out because right now, French oil giant Total is preparing to build the world’s longest heated crude oil pipeline right through the heart of Uganda and Tanzania – known as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, or EACOP.
The good news is that yesterday, it was reported that major U.S. banks, including JP Morgan, CitiGroup and Wells Fargo ruled out financing the project. But the threat isn’t gone yet, which is why I’m reaching out to you now.
One of the most powerful U.S. insurance brokers, Marsh McLennan, is trying to help get it over the finish line by finding insurance for the project. Cutting off funding for this pipeline is hugely important, but insurance is crucial.
Total may try to find alternative funding, but without insurance, this pipeline cannot operate. Already, major insurance companies including Allianz, Axa, Munich RE, and Zurich have all committed not to insure the project.1
This week, our movement celebrated major victories against this destructive pipeline. One of the last European banks thought to be funding the pipeline, Deutsche Bank, agreed to cut their funding.2 And now U.S. banks have pulled out.3
Thanks to our movement’s efforts, the company is $3 billion short of the money it needs for the pipeline. But with Marsh recruiting insurers, we risk our efforts being undone.
This pipeline would cause devastation for the people of Uganda and Tanzania. If built, nearly a third of the pipeline would run through the basin of Africa’s largest lake, Lake Victoria, which more than 40 million people depend on for water and food production. It would cross more than 200 rivers and force 100,000 people from their land.4
Just one spill or leak could have catastrophic effects on these vital freshwater sources and the millions of people that depend on them.
To be clear, the only people who would benefit from this pipeline are fossil fuel companies and mega corporations, not the people of Uganda and Tanzania. Nigeria, which produces the most oil in Africa, has become a cautionary tale: its economic dependence on petroleum has led to political instability, corruption, and increased inequality.
We have the chance to leapfrog fossil fuels and reap all the economic benefits of clean energy while dodging the environmental, political, climate, and health impacts that come with fossil fuels.
But it's up to us to raise the pressure on U.S. institutions trying to get this environmentally disastrous project over the line - and send a clear signal that any dealings with this project are toxic. Even Marsh McLennan’s employees sent a letter urging the company not to broker insurance for the pipeline.5
Together, we can show Marsh McLennan and other U.S. institutions thinking of backing EACOP that the world is watching and that we won’t allow them to continue bankrolling the climate crisis – in the U.S. or anywhere.
Thank you for your solidarity,
Omar Elmawi
Stop EACOP Campaign Coordinator
350.org
1 - Stop EACOP
2 - 350 Press Release
3 - Financial Times
4 - Stop EACOP
5 - Bureau of Investigative Journalism
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