Greenpeace Africa (www.Greenpeace.org) blew the whistle today on the Republic of Congo’s most recent greenwashing campaign by exposing its plans to tender three oil blocks in the heart of newly-discovered peatlands that Environment Minister Arlette Soudan-Nonault has vowed to protect. Four peatland oil blocks are already under allocation, awaiting development. Tendering for the “Licence Round Phase 2” blocks began in September and is being actively promoted by the Congolese regime this week at the Africa Oil Week conference in Cape Town (1). “It is shocking to see how the Congolese regime is playing the international community on peatlands. The same regime that claims to champion peatland protection at big media events is now showing the world its real intentions. This is a set back for peatland protection and we cannot just sit and watch while green commitments are used to hide the quest for financial profit,” says Victorine Che Thöner, Project Leader of Congo Basin Project at Greenpeace Africa. Covering 145,500 km² – an area larger than England – the Cuvette Centrale peatlands in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo are estimated to contain 30 billion tons of carbon or the equivalent of nearly 20 years of the fossil fuel emissions of the United States. They are home to communities that have been protecting them for centuries. The Republic of Congo’s Environment Minister was applauded only a week ago by the FAO and UN Environment at the launch of a new International Tropical Peatland Center in Jakarta. In… [Read full story]
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