Cape Town - While the government appears to be making strides to deal with the unfolding climate crisis, environmental groups believe it is deceptive because fossil fuel companies have released a stream of oil and gas application documents for public comment in South Africa after the conclusion of COP27.
This week, small-scale fishers, environmental groups and activists took part in nationwide pickets at a selection of Total petrol stations to protest the “total destruction” of the ocean and to demand an end to the exploration and extraction of any new climate change-escalating fossil fuel projects.
The groups said they hoped to raise the alarm and create widespread public awareness that the government and the oil and gas industry were not taking the climate crisis seriously, as efforts to further explore for and extract offshore oil and gas were ramped up.
Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said that in June this year, the International Energy Agency published the Africa Energy Outlook report which projected an increase in energy demand for Africa, and which acknowledged gas as critical primary energy source for South Africa to meet this demand while on the just transition journey.
“The report further projects Africa’s domestic demand for oil and gas to account for around two thirds of the continent’s production between now and 2030,” Mantashe said.
Participants protesting at a Total petrol station in Paarden Eiland said there were other ways to develop energy and create job opportunities than relying on the same old destructive methods of 60 years ago.
Greenpeace member Jeanne-Marie Klopper said: “We are supposed to be progressing as a society. There are other, better, safer and more cost-effective ways to go about this. We are here to protect the ocean not only for ourselves and the dolphins, whales and other marine life, but also for future generations.”
Extinction Rebellion (XR) Cape Town member Jacqui Tooke said they joined the campaign to oppose the exploration of oil and gas in South
Africa, and believed it was going to lead to the destruction of oceans and livelihoods of coastal communities.
Green Connection community outreach co-ordinator Neville van Rooy said: “The world is in a climate crisis, which means we should be making moves to cancel all fossil fuels. We believe that all applications for new projects should be stopped and that companies like TotalEnergies should instead invest their huge profits to transition away from fossil fuels.”
The picket was part of civil society mobilising for a just energy transition and part of The Green Connection’s #OceanTotalDestruction campaign with French NGO Bloom, which called on TotalEnergies to renounce its “harmful” offshore oil and gas projects in South Africa.