On Monday, a coalition of more than 260 groups, of which XR SA is a signatory, released a letter urging banks not to finance a $3.5bn oil pipeline in East Africa, concerned the project could lead to the loss of community land and livelihoods, environmental destruction and surging carbon emissions.
This Saturday, 6 March 2021 10:00-11:00, Extinction Rebellion Cape Town will be gathering outside Standard Bank, Thibault Square, Cape Town CBD to draw attention to this letter, and more specifically, to the demand that Standard Bank cease any involvement in the development of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
No responsible bank can justify financing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, fully aware of the economic, environmental, climate change and social risks of the project.
Further expansion of the fossil fuel industry, including the construction of new oil pipelines and related infrastructure, is incompatible with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and manifestly irresponsible at a time when the catastrophic impacts of global warming are becoming increasingly clear. A world-wide coalition of environmental activists has formed under the banner of #StopEACOP.
We also call on all environmentally- and socially-conscious people to close their accounts with Standard Bank South Africa, and move them to a bank that treats the climate and ecological crisis with the urgency it deserves.
Media contact: Cassi Goodman
cassi@extinctionrebellion.org.za
083 276 7596
Extinction Rebellion Cape Town: