In the midst of the 16 Days of Activism campaign, small-scale fisherwomen from around the country not only have to deal with the gender-based violence issues that plague the women in the country, but they also have to fight to protect their livelihoods from the onslaught of proposed oil and gas projects.
Last week (7 December 2022), people – concerned citizens from Port Nolloth in Northern Cape to Saldanha and Cape Town to Knysna and Beaufort West in Western Cape, all the way to Gqeberha and Xolobeni Eastern Cape, Durban and Richards Bay in KZN and even inland in Johannesburg – came out to peacefully protest the Total Destruction of the ocean and to demand an end of the exploration and extraction of any new climate change-escalating fossil fuel projects.
COP27, the international climate action negotiations, ran from 6-18 November 2022 and yet, in that time, fossil fuel companies have released a stream of oil and gas application documents for public comment.
Much like the climate, frustration about the lack of tangible action from COP27 is heating up. In its first “Lunchtime Briefing” (held on 9 November) to unpack its opposition of offshore oil and gas – fossil fuels with carbon and methane emissions that contribute to global warming and climate change – The Green Connection and partners explained how oil and gas exploration also risks harm to marine species and functioning ecosystems, which in turn affects the wellbeing of coastal communities and small-scale fishers by putting their livelihoods and food security at risk.
With just days away from COP27 – where world leaders, including from South Africa, will discuss
proposed global climate action commitments – The Green Connection says that without an integrated energy plan (IEP) that marks a clear pathway for decarbonisation in the energy sector, the country’s climate commitments will be nothing more than hot air.
In November, COP27 sees world leaders and other important decision-makers meet to discuss global efforts to address the climate crisis. Recent press reports have revealed that the country is the world’s 13th biggest source of climate-warming greenhouse gases and has pledged to reduce these emissions to net zero by 2050.
In South Africa, the French oil & gas major ‘TotalEnergies’ is about to start yet another destructive project despite specific climate experts’ recommendations to steer clear from new fossil fuel investments. On 5 September 2022, TotalEnergies applied for a production license to exploit two major gas fields, with up to one billion barrels of oil equivalent, off the South African’s southern coast.
Following a meeting with Petroleum Agency SA (PASA) on Thursday 29 September 2022, The Green Connection says it anticipates that it will receive the project-specific oil spill contingency plan (OSCP) by Wednesday 5 October 2022. The eco-justice organisation says, “In our view, such a plan should be in the hands of all interested and affected persons, before the drilling starts.”
This week on 26 September 2022, small-scale fishers held a picket demonstration at Pepper Bay Saldanha. The group of about 50 fishers and supporting eco-justice and community-based organisations are opposing the (imminent) arrival of the Azinam oil rig, which is set to start offshore oil and gas exploration activities in the next days.
Following a number of unsubstantiated allegations made about The Green Connection and its workwith small-scale fishers along South Africa’s coast, the eco-justice organisation wants to set the record straight, especially since environmental defenders are under increasing attack, as a result of their efforts to protect people and nature from exploitation.
