CIVICUS discusses oil expansion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with Emmanuel Musuyu, national coordinator of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations for Monitoring Reforms and Public Action (CORAP), a network of over 50 Congolese organisations that defend community rights and the environment and urge sustainable development independent of fossil fuels.
On 29 July, the DRC government announced the launch of a tender for 55 new oil blocks, sparking outrage among civil society. Climate and environmental organisations are sounding the alarm about an extractive project on an unprecedented scale that could potentially cover over half of the DRC’s territory. The planned expansion directly threatens the livelihoods of millions of people and the precious ecosystems they rely on, raising questions about the fossil-fuel driven development model and the government’s commitment to tackling climate change.
