"An ecological bomb". The French association Les amis de la Terre has described in these terms the new mega-project that several companies are developing in Mozambique. The aim: to exploit an immense underwater gas deposit identified some years ago off the northern coast of the African nation. Flying in the face of declarations, plans and promises to carry out an ecological transition that involves abandoning fossil fuels.

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Au Mozambique, l’exploitation du gaz tourne au cauchemar ☠️ A l'abri des regards, la France en est directement complice...

➡️ Révélations : amisdelaterre.org/de-leldorado-g…

#DeLeldoradoAuChaos #NoGasMoz

273 23 15 giu 2020 · Apri su X →

5,000 billion cubic metres of gas on the seabed of Mozambique

According to information cited in a report entitled "From gas eldorado to chaos", beneath the seabed there are said to be 5,000 billion cubic metres. A quantity large enough to transform one of the world's poorest nations into a major global exporter of liquefied natural gas. But at a gigantic cost to the entire planet: extracting and then burning this fossil fuel will contribute to undermining the (already insufficient) efforts made so far by the international community to tackle climate change. It will also pose risks to the local environment, starting with marine biodiversity.

mozambico gas eni — Investments in the mega-project to exploit gas in Mozambique © Les amis de la Terre

Strongly backing the project, as one might expect, are the fossil fuel multinationals. Among these is the Italian company Eni, alongside the American ExxonMobil and the French Total. The latter alone is said to have planned a colossal investment of 25 billion dollars. This in the hope of being able to begin exploiting the deposit from 2022 or 2023.

Emissions equivalent to seven times the annual output of a nation like France

According to Les amis de la Terre, the scale of the project is such that it "represents seven times the annual emissions of a nation like France". Which is enough to illustrate how the exploitation of the new deposit in Mozambique risks "plunging the planet even deeper into the climate crisis". But also "lighting the fuse in a region already marked by tensions", the report underlines.

RFI ✓ @RFI

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Gaz: une ONG accuse la France d'«amorcer une bombe climatique» au Mozambique rfi.my/648E.t

34 3 15 giu 2020 · Apri su X →

The reference is to the fact that the gas reserves are located in the province of Cabo Delgado, where for the past two and a half years an Islamist insurgency has caused 1,100 deaths (according to figures from the non-governmental organisation Armed conflict location and event data project, Acled). The social and climate risks would therefore be enormous. It remains to be seen whether, once again, economic interests will prevail — interests from which, as so often happens, the population of Mozambique is unlikely to benefit.

Billions of dollars for a mega-deposit in Mozambique. This is not a transition