12 civil society organisations grouped within the Dynamic POLE (Energy Policy), call on the Congolese government to abandon fossil fuels. In a statement published on Monday 17 October 2022, they call for the adoption of a policy that favours renewable energies, of which the DRC has enormous potential.
” (…) the Democratic Republic of Congo has resolutely presented itself as a solution country for the climate crisis, renewing its commitment to contribute to global efforts to combat climate change, and inviting the global climate community to find a solution to the difficult cohabitation between the issues of survival on the one hand, and those of reducing greenhouse gas emissions on the other“The joint statement reads.
For these organisations, this decision would be regarding the “country solution” discourse to the global climate crisis that the government has been promoting.
Government urged to cancel oil block auction
The exploitation of the 27 oil blocks and 3 gas blocks that the DRC has, could worsen the situation of communities instead of bringing development as communicated by the government, the Dynamic said.
” Fossil fuel development would exacerbate existing inequalities,would further undermine the country in general and the communities in particular, from its vastforests and other natural resources such as fish from the lakes covered by the tender,not to mention the impacts of production on health, water, land and livelihoods.subsistence ”.
Thus, it encourages the government, among other things, to “cancel the tender for the auction of all these blocks to avoid mortgaging the country’s social, economic and environmental future”. Also, to invest in low-cost, decentralised and diversified renewable energies in order to propel socio-economic development and community welfare, and to implement social and economic policy, notably through the financing of rural electrification initiatives.
Finally, the Dynamic POLE specifies that the concerns of all segments of the Congolese population must be taken into account. The aim is to improve the policy, legal, regulatory and institutional regarding the energy sector, based on Article 48 of the Constitution, which stipulates that “the right to decent housing, the right of access to drinking water and electrical energy are guaranteed”.
