Oplæg: Ugandiske klimaaktivisters kamp mod energiselskabet Total

English below. 

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Vi får besøg af den ugandiske klimaaktivist Nyombi Morris, der har måttet flygte fra Uganda på grund af hans LGBT- og klimaaktivisme, og Danwatch’s journalist Oscar Rothstein der har beskæftiget sig med danske forbindelser til EACOP-rørledningen.

Program:

• Velkomst 
• Oplæg ved Oscar Rothstein: hvad er EACOP og hvilke konsekvenser har projektet for miljø, klima og lokalbefolkningen langs den 1443 km lange rørledning. Han vil også fortælle om hvordan Danmark og det Globale Nord er involveret gennem investeringer, særlig i olieselskabet Total Energies
• Oplæg ved Nyombi Morris: Hvordan ugandere har modsat sig projektet, og om den repression de ugandiske aktivister møder, når de kritiserer EACOP
• Spørgsmål og debat: Hvordan kan vi som borgere, organisationer og medlemmer af pensionskasser i Danmark kan modsætte os EACOP og støtte op om de ugandiske aktivister og deres kamp?
• Tak for i aften

Arrangementet afholdes i samarbejde med Global Aktion.

Om EACOP

EACOP, The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) er et megainfrastrukturprojekt, der skal forbinde oliefelterne Tilenga og Kingfisher i det nordlige Uganda med havnebyen Tanga langs Tanzanias østkyst. Hvis konstruktionen af EACOP færdiggøres, vil den være den længste opvarmede råolierørledning i verden. Den vil strække sig over 1443 kilometer og når produktionen er på sit højeste, vil den transportere 246.000 tønder olie om dagen. 

Projektet er i strid med de globale forpligtelser til en grøn omstilling og har allerede resulteret i et utal af menneskerettighedskrænkelser og miljøforringelser. 

Om oplægsholderne:
Nyombi Morris er en ugandisk klimaaktivist der har været meget aktiv i den offentlige debat i Uganda efter at hans hjem blev ødelagt i en flom, der skyldes afskovning af Bogomi-skoven i vest-Uganda. Han har blandt andet startet miljøorganisationen Earth Volunteers, der underviser skoleelever i klimaforandringer og organiserer unge for at kræve klimaretfærdighed. Han er en udtalt kritiker af EACOP, og en forkæmper for LGBTIQ+ personers rettigheder i Uganda, der har en af verdens strengeste “anti-homoseksualitetslove”. I september blev han nødt til at flygte fra Uganda efter en smædekampagne hvor forskellige medier hængt ham ud for at være homoseksuel og “promovere homoseksualitet” gennem Earth Volunteers, en handling der kan straffes med 20 års fængsel i det østafrikanske land. Han har nu søgt asyl i Danmark. 

Oscar Rothstein er undersøgende journalist hos Danwatch, hvor han beskæftiger sig med det afrikanske kontinent. Oscar holder blandt andet øje med danske investeringer i Afrika og konsekvenserne det har for bl.a. miljø, klima og menneskerettigheder. Han har blandt andet fulgt EACOP-projektet tæt, og sat fokus på TotalEnergy’s rolle og hvordan pensionsfondet PKA er involveret i det omstridte projekt, gennem investeringer i en af EACOPs vigtigste finansieringskilder: Sydafrikanske Standard Bank. 

English:

Join us for a talk on the controversial East African oil pipeline EACOP and the consequences for Ugandans who oppose the devastating project.

We will be joined by Ugandan climate activist Nyombi Morris, who had to flee Uganda due to his activism for LGBT-rights and climate action, and Danwatch journalist Oscar Rothstein, who has covered the EACOP pipeline for the investigative media.

Journalist Oscar Rothstein will give a presentation on what EACOP is, what consequences it has for the environment, climate and the local population along the 1443 km long pipeline. He will also talk about how Denmark and the Global North are financing the project through investments in companies such as TotalEnergies. Climate activist Nyombi Morris will talk about how Ugandans have opposed the project and the repression Ugandan activists face when they criticize EACOP.

Finally, we will discuss how we as citizens, organizations and pension fund members in Denmark can oppose EACOP and support the Ugandan activists and their struggle.

The event is arranged together with Global Aktion

About EACOP

EACOP, The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is a mega infrastructure project that aims to connect the Tilenga and Kingfisher oilfields in the North of Uganda with the port city of Tanga along the Eastern coast of Tanzania. If completed, EACOP would be the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world, spanning 1443 kilometres and transporting 246,000 barrels of oil per day at peak production times

The project counteracts global commitments towards a green transition and has already resulted in a myriad of human rights abuses and environmental degradation. At peak production, the pipeline’s full emissions (construction, operation, oil refinement and use) amount to 34 million tonnes of carbon per year. This surpasses the combined emissions of Uganda and Tanzania in 2022 by a significant margin and is 18% more than Denmark’s total carbon emissions in the same year. The oil fields and pipeline has led to the displacement of thousands of people in Uganda and Tanzania, and it is estimated that it will directly affect the land and livelihoods of over 118,000 individuals across the two countries. Meanwhile, activists that speak up against the EACOP project face massive repression from the police and the government. In Uganda, over 100 protesters have been arrested just over the last months. 

About the speakers:
Nyombi Morris is a Ugandan climate activist who has been active in the public debate after his home was destroyed in a flood caused by deforestation of the Bogomi forest in western Uganda. He funded the environmental organization Earth Volunteers, which teaches school students about climate change and organizes youth to demand climate justice. He is an outspoken critic of EACOP and a defender of LGBT rights in Uganda, a country has one of the world's strictest “anti-homosexuality” laws. In September, he was forced to flee Uganda following a smear campaign in which various media outlets accused him of being gay and “promoting homosexuality” through Earth Volunteers, an act punishable by 20 years in prison in the East African country. He has now sought asylum in Denmark.

Oscar Rothstein is an investigative journalist at Danwatch, where he covers the African continent. Among other things, Oscar keeps an eye on Danish investments in Africa and the consequences it has for the environment, climate and human rights. Among other things, he has followed the EACOP project closely and focused on the role of the main shareholder TotalEnergies and how the pension fund PKA is involved in the controversial project through investments in one of EACOP's main sources of financing: South African Standard Bank.