Fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal contribute significantly to global warming. Environmental organizations accuse energy companies of promoting such projects in Africa. The accusation also applies to banks, insurance companies and fund companies.
Environmental organizations accuse energy companies of pursuing large-scale projects to expand fossil fuels in Africa, despite the climate crisis. The report by Urgewald and other organizations identifies 200 companies in 48 countries on the continent exploring for and developing new fossil fuels or developing infrastructure such as liquid gas terminals, oil pipelines or gas and coal-fired power plants.
"Fossil fuels are the main cause of the climate crisis and Africa is hit harder than any other continent," criticized Omar Elmawi, coordinator of the "Stop East African Crude Oil Pipeline" (EACOP) campaign at the world climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. The report is based on data from Urgewald's public database Global Oil and Gas List (GOGEL). Among other things, the French oil multinational Totalenergies is mentioned. According to the report, the state-owned Algerian oil and gas company Sonatrach and the Italian oil company Eni are also among the big players in the exploration and production of oil and gas in Africa.
According to the report, the number of planned coal-fired power plants in Africa has fallen over the past four years. In eleven countries, however, new coal-fired power plants, coal mines or infrastructure measures for transport are planned or under development. In nine countries, 70 new coal mines will be developed or existing ones expanded. The environmental organizations accuse banks, insurance companies and fund companies of financing companies that are also promoting new fossil projects in Africa.
As of July 2022, more than 5,000 institutional investors held shares and bonds in these companies with a total value of around 109 billion dollars (around 106 billion euros). At the same time, according to the report, between January 2019 and July 2022, commercial banks granted an estimated around 98 billion dollars in syndicated loans (44 billion) and so-called underwriting mandates (54 billion), in which the lead manager commits to carrying out a loan transaction.
The report does not reveal which projects the companies are actually using the money for. Exact data on the shares of individual credit institutions in a syndicated loan are not usually published and are therefore largely based on assumptions. Bilateral loans from individual financial institutions could not be recorded.
