G7: Stop oil drilling in the Okavango watershed and regulate the global financial system
The leaders of the G7 and representatives of the European Union
ReconAfrica a Canadian company is drilling for oil in the watershed of the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage site whose waters are a source of sustainable livelihood for more than a million people. They predict discovery of enough oil to blow 1/6 of the world's remaining carbon budget.
We are demanding that Canada, home of ReconAfrica, and other members of the G7 (the company trades and has offices in 4 of those 7 countries) stop this project, all new oil exploration, crimanalise ecocide and fund alternatives for countries like Namibia and Botswana to whom the Global North owes a climate debt. This is part of a campaign leading up to the G7 meeting in June and forwards to COP 26 and beyond.
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To:
The leaders of the G7 and representatives of the European Union
From:
[Your Name]
Leaders of the G7 and representatives of the European Union
We call on the G7 to halt oil and gas exploration in the watershed of the Okavango Delta by Canadian company ReconAfrica as an example of what needs to happen globally. ReconAfrica have a petroleum licence to drill and potentially frack an estimated 120 billion barrels of oil and gas across a 35,000 ㎢ area of Namibia and Botswana.
This threatens the Delta which is a UNESCO world heritage site, also protected by the US DELTA Act. It is home to the largest wildlife populations in Africa, and supports the sustainable livelihoods of more than a million people. If this volume of oil were discovered and burnt it would consume approximately one sixth of the world's remaining carbon budget.
The G7’s economic power was generated by fossil fuels. You hold 60% of the world’s wealth and are central to our global financial systems. ReconAfrica is traded on the US, German and Canadian stock exchanges and has London offices. Activities like this in Africa to benefit European and North American investors are modern day colonialism. You owe a climate debt to countries like Namibia and Botswana to ensure they have alternatives to fossil fuels.
We call on the G7:
1. To enact international law to stop oil and gas exploration and make ecocide a crime;
2. Engage with parties to terminate ReconAfrica’s contracts for oil exploration;
3. Pay your climate debt so countries like Namibia and Botswana have alternatives to fossil fuel extraction.
Just 3% of the planet’s ecosystems are intact, only 4% of mammals are wild. This and projects like it are locking us into catastrophic global heating. The indigeneous communities who could teach us to live in relationship with our environment barely survive. We are at a precipice. Let this ReconAfrica project, in the cradle of humanity, be where you draw a line and say: no further.
cc Hage Geingob, President of Namibia
Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of Botswana
References:
The Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty: fossilfueltreaty.org
Stop Ecocide: www.stopecocide.earth
Climate debt: www.climatefairshares.org