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#StopEACOP Trade Union Briefing

Motion

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Stop EACOP Trade Union model motion & Info pack

Put together by Defund Climate Chaos & #StopEACOP

If your branch or union pass this motion, can you please let us know

by emailing [email protected]  - Thanks!

If you are unsure how to pass a motion, check our simple guide here.

Model motion (534 words)

This branch/AGM/conference is concerned about the plans by French oil giant Total and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation to build a massive oil pipeline right through the heart of Africa – displacing communities, endangering wildlife and tipping the world closer to full-blown climate catastrophe. This pipeline, called EACOP - the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline – would cross Tanzania and Uganda.

Experts have been warning since at least 2011 that most of the world’s fossil fuel reserves could not be burned without causing catastrophic global heating. In 2015, a high-profile analysis found that to limit global temperature below 2C, half of known oil reserves and a third of gas had to stay in the ground, along with 80% of coal.

If built, EACOP would release 34 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year at peak production and would allow Total to drill oil within Uganda’s oldest and largest national park and threaten one of the most ecologically diverse and wildlife-rich regions of the world. Nearly a third of the pipeline would run through the basin of Africa’s largest lake, Lake Victoria, that more than 40 million people depend on for water and food production. It will also force 100,000 people from their land and homes.

Already, before construction has even begun, communities have experienced serious human rights violations related to the project. Human rights defenders, local community leaders and environmental activists in Uganda and Tanzania courageous enough to speak out against the project have faced threats, attacks and intimidation, including unlawful arrest. The Government is clamping down on organisations working to assist oil-affected communities. Trade Unions must now support the resistance work and ensure their voices are heard loud and clear.

Fortunately Total and CNOOC can’t build the pipeline alone – they need support from investors, banks and insurance firms around the world. It’s our job to highlight the risks and make sure EACOP is starved of the corporate and political support it needs to move forward. So far 20 banks and 8 insurers have refused to support this devastating project.

This branch/AGM/conference:

  • Recognise that the future is not about fossil fuels but sustainable and just alternatives driven for and by the people of East Africa.
  • Applaud the work of local communities, human rights defenders and environmental activists who have been fighting to halt EACOP for years.
  • Underlines that the financing of fossil fuel projects is a very important dimension to consider and can be a leverage to stop new projects, whether it is banks or insurance companies.
  • Communities on the frontline of those projects are often from countries who have least contributed to global emissions and they do not benefit from those projects

This branch/AGM/conference therefore agrees to:

  • Support the work of the Stop EACOP campaign (and the newly formed Stop EACOP UK coalition)
  • Share and disseminate information to trade union members about the campaign, as well as the events and the action/protests it organises
  • Support the escalation of the pressure on financial institutions. In the UK Standard Chartered and the Lloyd’s Insurance market haven’t taken position on EACOP yet.
  • Raise the profile Stop EACOP campaign in the International Trade Union movement, with Global Federations and Global Unions to provide international solidarity

If you branch or union pass this motion, can you please let us know

by emailing [email protected]  - Thanks!

A few basic facts

  • If built, EACOP would be the longest heated oil pipeline in the world and would release 34 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year at peak production – more than double the current emissions of Uganda and Tanzania.
  • EACOP would allow Total to drill oil within Uganda’s oldest and largest national park and threaten one of the most ecologically diverse and wildlife-rich regions of the world. The nearly 1,445 kilometre pipeline would run through numerous important habitats and nature reserves – home to some of the largest populations of elephants, giraffes, lions, hippos and leopards in the world. Decades of hard work and investment have helped revive these populations after they were decimated by poaching.
  • Nearly a third of the pipeline would run through the basin of Africa’s largest lake, Lake Victoria, that more than 40 million people depend on for water and food production. It would cross more than 200 rivers and run through thousands of farms. An oil leak or spill would have catastrophic consequences.
  • It will also force 100,000 people from their land and homes.

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