China State Bank Shouldn’t Back East African Crude Oil Pipeline

“We are now drilling.” Uganda’s energy minister recently confirmed at COP29 that the government was pressing ahead with the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The 1,443-kilometer pipeline will connect oilfields in western Uganda with the port of Tanga in eastern Tanzania. Among one of the world’s largest fossil fuel projects currently under development, EACOP poses significant risks to human rights and the environment.

Given the government’s unwavering support, the pipeline’s completion will now rely on whether it can secure the necessary funding.

Several banks, including major African banks, have already declined to support the project. The state-run Import-Export Bank of China (Exim Bank) remains undecided and is expected to make a key decision in December about its financial support for EACOP.

A Human Rights Watch report in 2023 found that land acquisition associated with the project has already devasted thousands of people’s livelihoods in Uganda. The inadequate and delayed compensation for land lost to the project has impacted many communities’ access to food, health, and education. It is estimated that developments in the oilfields will displace as many as 100,000 people across Uganda and Tanzania.

Human Rights Watch has also documented the Ugandan government’s routine harassment and arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders and activists who voice concerns about the pipeline. More than 80 have been arrested since May 2024 for protesting against EACOP.

The Climate Accountability Institute estimated the full lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of the project to be 379 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, more than the annual emissions of Australia.

Human Rights Watch wrote to Exim Bank in October and urged the bank not to support EACOP due to its human rights and environmental risks. Backing EACOP would also be at odds with the bank’s stated aims as outlined in its 2022 White Paper on Green Finance, which highlights cooperation with various international financial institutions in supporting environmental protection and renewable energy. Exim Bank has not responded to the letter.

In a year when global warming is expected to exceed the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius set by the Paris Agreement, expanding new fossil fuel projects like EACOP would be disastrous. China Exim Bank, or any financial institution, should not support a project that poses grave and significant risks to both human rights and the environment.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).