Mozambique UK environmentalists appeal against gas project funding

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Mozambique UK environmentalists appeal against gas project funding

10:30 CAT | 24 Feb 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Friends of the Earth]

The environmental organisation Friends of the Earth has appealed to the UK’s highest court to assess a request to challenge British funding for a natural gas extraction project in Mozambique, it said on Tuesday.

In January, the Court of Appeal rejected the case, “stating it was for ministers, not judges, to decide whether such projects align with the global climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement,” reads a Friends of the Earth communique.

But the organisation wants the arguments to be heard again by the Supreme Court.

The activists consider that ” the decision to fund the project was unlawful ” and “is deeply concerned about the implications of the Court of Appeal’s ruling on public decision-making around the UK’s climate obligations.”.

“The funding decision was made without taking on board the staggering emissions that will result from burning the gas, and without considering how these emissions align with globally agreed climate goals,” they said in a statement.

Before moving to a trial, the Supreme Court will first assess the application to decide whether it has merit and whether an issue of major constitutional importance is at stake.

UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK’s export credit agency , n 2020 allocated US$115 billion to develop the offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Rovuma basin of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique.

But Friends of the Earth claims that the environmental impact has not been properly assessed, which runs counter to the UK’s commitment to meet the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement to limit global warming.

The organisation has calculated that up to 4.5 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases will result from the project over its years of activity.

The project in question, promoted by a consortium led by French oil company TotalEnergies in the Rovuma basin, was suspended in 2021 after attacks by armed groups in Cabo Delgado province.

Valued at between €20 and €25 billion, the gas extraction megaproject is one of the largest private investments planned for Africa and is supported by several international financial institutions.

Source: Lusa