#StopEACOP: 22 Feb protest against Japan banks’ hands in oil and greed

Fridays For Future Japan will protest against financing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) next week on 22 February. French energy companies and Japanese banks intend to construct the world’s largest crude oil pipeline (led by French oil company Total and majority state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation) in Africa, a continent severely impacted by the climate crisis. Building the pipeline, which will facilitate burning six billion barrels of oil and emitting over 34 million additional tons of carbon annually, is ill-timed, given the accumulating severity of the climate crisis.

EACOP threatens 40 million livelihoods and 2,000 square km of protected wildlife habitats

The EACOP is a major threat to ecosystems, climate change, and millions of people, with almost a third of it running through Lake Victoria’s basin, which more than 40 million people rely on. The pipeline will run through thousands of farms and cross many rivers, with even one spill having catastrophic effects. Over 100,000 people in Uganda and Tanzania will lose their land, with many being forcibly removed from their homes, and communities report a lack of transparency and delays in compensation. The project is about extracting private profit and will disproportionately harm women and girls in the region.

The pipeline will also have devastating consequences for the ecologically diverse and wildlife-rich regions it passes through. Its nearly 1,445-kilometer route would disturb nearly 2,000 square kilometers of protected wildlife habitats, including those critical to preserving vulnerable species such as the African elephant and eastern chimpanzee. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed both the African elephant and eastern chimpanzee on its “red list” of threatened species. Furthermore, the pipeline’s construction and operation will create a massive line of wide-open space that will become a significant barrier for many animals and will threaten the balance of ecosystems.

Japan banks’ hands are marred

The EACOP project has received financing and consultation services from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) of Japan, which has been criticized worldwide for forcibly evicting residents, using violence against students who oppose it, and posing a risk of environmental pollution. Japanese banks are deeply involved in the project, with SMBC being one of its primary advisors. Other banks have declared their non-participation, but MUFG Bank (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) Bank has yet to clarify its stance.

In November 2022, members of MUFG attended COP27, an international conference on climate change measures. However, MUFG has lent approximately US$1.1 billion to the French oil company Total between 2016 and 2020, which promotes the EACOP project. Fridays For Future Japan and activists from Uganda and Tanzania have requested that MUFG clarify its position on the EACOP, the exchange as seen below. The reply towards the end: “I am not aware of EACOP and cannot comment on specific matters. As I am not the CEO, I do not know what we (MUFG) are doing.”

日本パビリオンで講演していた三菱UFJのグローバル・アドバイザリーボード委員。東アフリカ原油パイプライン（EACOP）について「私はEACOPのことは知りません。特定のことについては言及できない。私はCEOじゃないので私たち（UFJ）が何をやっているのか知りません」と。#COP27 pic.twitter.com/soNlNnymlL

— 山本健太朗 ?COP27参加? #FridaysForFuture (@ken_y97) November 9, 2022

Numerous banks are retracting their support following worldwide protests. To halt this venture, we must exert significant pressure on the primary Japanese banks.

Join the protest on 22 February

22 February will be a global day of action that will take place in multiple locations, including New York, Paris, Brussels, Johannesburg, and London. We ask that participants wear red clothing, although other colors are acceptable. Protests in Japan are scheduled for Sendai, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Fukuoka, with plans to hold them in other areas as well, and organizers are encouraged to wear red clothing, although other colors are acceptable. They are also planning an online campaign to complement the physical protests.

More about climate action in Japan