14 hours ago
Environmental activists protest against Standard Bank and Total Energies over fossil fuel financing
Koketso Phasha | Published 17 minutes ago
A coalition of activist groups, Stop East African Crude Oil Pipeline (StopEACOP) embarked on a protest in Johannesburg with the intention of voicing their frustrations against Standard Bank and Total Energies for their alleged exploitative and non-environmentally friendly activities in Africa.
According to StopEACOP, Standard Bank has positioned itself as a chief accomplice to Total Energies' wreckage across the African continent and is bankrolling the exploitation, destruction and harm imposed onto so many communities.
In a memorandum on Tuesday, the coalition said to Total Energies: "We, organisations, communities and ordinary people from across South Africa and the African continent, are united in our unequivocal condemnation of Total Energies and its destructive fossil fuel operations.
"As communities and activists demonstrate, come together and speak out through this week of action (18-24 August 2025), we send a clear and urgent message that Total must back off."
Zaki Mamdoo, a coordinator of the StopEACOP outlined that the demonstration, part of a continentwide Week of Action (August 18-24), calls on the bank to sever ties with the oil giant over alleged plundering and ecological destruction across Africa.
Expressing contentment and hope to succeed, the coalition said: "We welcome the decision of the Western Cape High Court setting aside the exploration right granted to Total Energies and its partners to pursue offshore oil and gas drilling along South Africa's southwest coast.
The court found that the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) and Total Energies failed to adequately consult affected communities and ignored the serious environmental and climate risks posed by the project.
This judgment is a victory for coastal communities, small-scale fishers, and environmental defenders who have long resisted the imposition of destructive projects that threaten their livelihoods, marine ecosystems, and our collective future."
Mamdoo said: "For years, Standard Bank has not only ignored the legitimate concerns of communities but has met peaceful protest with arrogance and repression. Instead of engaging in good faith, Standard Bank has chosen to brutalise activists, dismiss civil society, and double down on investments that endanger millions of lives across Africa."
StopEACOP said Standard Bank has by virtue of financing the Mozambique LNG Project, Coral FLNG (Floating LNG) Facility and East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) contributed to the destruction of communities across Africa, the carbon emissions driving climate collapse, the violence, human rights abuses, and ecological destruction that accompany these so-called 'developments.
Under pressure from protestors, Total Energies committed to providing a written response to the memorandum within 14 days. Similarly, a Standard Bank representative promised a written response to the demands within 14 days, despite one protestor angrily demanding an immediate answer.
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