A coalition of climate crusaders and activists under the auspices of Oilwatch International has advocated for total resistance and rejection of all forms of environmental racism and climate imperialism, especially among its members in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria and their allies in the United States of America and Norway.
The groups made the call in their Durban Declaration 2024 at a retreat held between Friday, August 23 and Saturday, August 24, 2024 in Durban, South Africa, with the theme: Beyond Colonialism and Extractivism: Energy Democracy and the Imperatives of a Just Transition.
During the retreat, members of Oilwatch International critically analyzed current trends in extractivism and the systemic push for hydrogen amid the energy transition discourse. It was an opportunity to learn from struggles and enhance synergies to co-create pathways to a future that promotes life and halts fossil-driven dispossession, impoverishment, and accumulation.
They lamented that the fight for the protection of Yasuni National Park had been going on for three decades, adding that in the first 20 years, the campaign by local communities and Oilwatch members focused on protecting the environment and livelihoods.
In a communiqué made available to journalists by Communication Officer of Oilwatch Africa, ‘Kome Odhomor, the groups said: “Victory in the fight to protect Yasuní has been the result of the unwavering dedication and resilience of the Ecuadorians. Their ‘yes’ vote, a decision made in consultation with the people and the indigenous nations of the world, is a beacon of hope. It is time to ‘Yasunize the world’.”
The communiqué was signed by South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) of South Africa; Senegal’s Centre de Recherche et d’Action sur les Droits Économique Sociaux et Culturels (CRADESC); Centre pour la Justice Environnementale (CJE) and FishNet Alliance (Togo); Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and FishNet Alliance (Nigeria); KZN Subsistence Fisherfolks Forum (South Africa); FishNet Alliance (Mozambique); Oilwatch Africa; Oilwatch International; Oil Change International; Green Connection (South Africa) and The Young Environmentalist Network (TYEN) from Nigeria.
Others are Earth Life (South Africa); Oilwatch (Ghana); Environmental Rights Action (Nigeria); JVE (Côte d’Ivoire); Peace Point Development Foundation (Nigeria); Centro para Desenvolvimento Alternativo (Mozambique); Accion Ecologica (Ecuador); FASE (Brazil); AGHAM (Philippines); Oilwatch (Latin America); GroundWork (South Africa) and International Oil Working Groups (Allies).
“We recognize the struggles of the KZN fishers in Durban as well as other fisherfolks and other struggles around the world. The Retreat underscored that the historical context of colonialism and extractivism has profoundly shaped not only local but also global energy systems. These practices have led to widespread environmental degradation, social inequalities and economic dependencies affecting us all on a global scale.
“The Retreat also highlighted the need to protect communities and territories in the global south from being used as testing grounds. There is an intentional push to promote all forms of false solutions and coercive collusion of the respective governments and it is crucial to resist these practices and promote ethical energy solutions.
“Neocolonial exploitation of natural resources in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, has led to the creation of economic systems based on extractivism with far-reaching negative global implications.
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“The persistence of fossil fuel dependence, centralized energy systems, and inequitable access to energy resources continues to exacerbate social and environmental injustices. The global shift towards renewable energy presents a challenge,” the communiqué reads.
The groups further pointed out that while it offers the potential to reduce carbon emissions and climate change, there is a risk that new forms of extractivism like mining for rare earth minerals and hyping hydrogen could replicate old patterns of inequality and environmental harm.
“It is, therefore, imperative that we collaborate to ensure that this transition is just for peoples and nature. As a people united against neocolonial, colonial and the corporate capture system, Oilwatch International demands that we must resist every form of environmental racism and climate imperialism in any way they present themselves,” they said.
Other demands are that multinationals should stop any further fossil fuel exploration and exploitation, building new fossil fuel infrastructure, deploying false solutions, including REDD+, carbon offsets and markets, geoengineering, deployment of GMOs and other forms.
“The rights of communities and nature must be respected, including the right to say no to projects. The well-being of our people, communities and all forms of life must be put over profit.
“When considering energy access and transition, we must move beyond the paradigm of corporate capture and towards more equitable and just frameworks, as gas and nuclear are neither clean nor renewable.
“The pattern of commodification and extraction of natural resources with minimal regard for local ecosystems or communities that lead to long-term socio-economic and environmental consequences must stop.
“Oilwatch views democratizing and decolonizing energy frameworks as keys to achieving equitable and socialized access to energy, prioritization of the people’s needs and the planet’s integrity. We say no to every form of apartheid and the war on the people of Palestine,” the communiqué added.
