Dear friends,
Oil giant Total is about to build
the biggest
heated oil pipeline in the world -- right through the
heart of Africa!
It will
rip through some of
the most important elephant, lion and chimpanzee reserves on
Earth, displace tens of thousands of families, and
tip the whole planet closer to full-blown climate
catastrophe.
Local communities are doing all
they can to fight the project, but they’re up against
one of the most powerful companies on Earth, and they need
help to turn this into a Standing Rock in Africa. Our movement
can be that help!
Even as he plans this pipeline,
Total's French CEO is trying to paint his company as a
climate leader. Let’s hold him to account with a massive
petition -- when it's huge we’ll deliver our voices
with unmissable ads in France and turn this into a PR
nightmare for Total. Add your name to stand with the brave
communities fighting this -- before it’s too late!
Add your name now!
Make no mistake --
this project is
massive. It would cross more than 200 rivers and 12
protected forests, home to an abundance of beautiful wildlife
already clinging onto survival.
Just one leak
could be a catastrophe.
It’s not
going to be easy to stop, but Avaaz has a plan --
making sure everyone knows Total is behind the pipeline,
running ads and op-eds ahead of a historic legal case in
France, partnering with grassroots and global organisations,
and joining high level advocacy efforts to get influential
political and business voices to speak out.
The
pipeline shareholders argue it will bring jobs, yet experts
say it might be just 300 permanently -- not to mention the
environmental damage and massive displacement of local
farmers it threatens to bring. This will also lock
the region into a dirty energy trap, at a time when the world
is gearing up for a clean energy future.
This fight is
about more than stopping a reckless investment, or even just
protecting Africa's wildlife. We can’t afford to keep pumping
oil -- this is everyone’s battle, protecting precious life on
this planet, defending the most vulnerable, and putting our
kids’ future above the interests of a wealthy few.
Sign the petition and share with everyone you
know: Add your name now!
The fight against
climate chaos is part of our movement’s DNA. We put millions
on the streets, and ran fierce media and advocacy campaigns
until we helped win the Paris deal. But we’ve also taken on
corporate giants like Monsanto, and won. Now let’s go all out
to stop Total’s insane project before it's too
late.
With hope and determination,
Martyna,
Pascal, Alice, Bert, Aloys, Luis, and the rest of the Avaaz
team
More information:
A Major Oil Pipeline
Project Strikes Deep at the Heart of Africa (Yale Environment
360)
https://e360.yale.edu/features/a-major-oil-pipeline-project-strikes-deep-at-the-heart-of-africaCivil
society concerned over oil pipeline (The Independent)
https://www.independent.co.ug/civil-society-concerned-over-oil-pipeline/Serious
breaches of the duty of vigilance law: The case of Total in
Uganda (Business & Human Rights)
https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/serious-breaches-of-the-duty-of-vigilance-law-the-case-of-total-in-uganda/ Ugandan
farmers take on French oil giant in game changer case for
multinationals (PRI)
https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-01-10/ugandan-farmers-take-french-oil-giant-game-changer-case-multinationalsSafeguarding
people & nature in the East Africa crude oil pipeline
project (WWF)
https://www.wwf.no/assets/attachments/99-safeguarding_nature_and_people___oil_and_gas_pipeline_factsheet.pdfTotal,
see you in court! (Friends of the Earth)
www.totalincourt.org