A group of European and African NGOs as well as Greens/EFA MEPs call on the EU to stop its dash to buy gas in Africa, in a letter sent on Wednesday 2 November to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to the Vice-Presidents of the institution, Josep Borrell and Frans Timmermans, and to the leaders of Germany, Spain, France and Italy.
“We stand in solidarity with our African allies who, faced with an economic and climate crisis caused by fossil fuels, are demanding an end to gas on their continent through a campaign called ‘Don’t Gas Africa’” write the signatories - including CAN Europe (Climate Action Network), which published the letter.
They are asking to: - immediately cease any deals to expand gas production and infrastructure in Africa, reaffirm the COP26 Glasgow Statement to halt investment in new gas and oil; - introduce rapid gas demand reduction measures in Europe that apply to energy and industrial processes (for example, reducing plastics production would cut gas consumption close to the volumes that could feasibly come from reserves in African countries), they argue; - invest in large scale rollout of renewable energy in partnership with African countries.
See the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/3wd (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)