Gas in Mozambique
In 2011 one of the world’s largest gas reserves was found in the coastal province of Cabo Delgado, in the north of Mozambique. A total of 35 billion dollars has been invested to extract the gas. Dozens of multinationals and financiers are involved in these rapid developments. It is very difficult for the people living in Cabo Delgado to exert influence on the plans and activities, while they experience the negative consequences. With the arrival of these companies, they are losing their land.
False promises
American company Anadarko first owned the concession for the Mozambican gas fields, but sold it to the French company Total in 2019. Total is responsible for building all the infrastructure required to sell the gas. Thousands of farmers, fishermen and others live on the land it will be built on, and 2,500 people have to be relocated. The companies promised the communities that the gas extraction would improve their lives, bringing enormous prosperity and creating many jobs. So far, however, the communities have seen few of these benefits.
On the contrary, many have lost access to fertile land and fishing grounds and have had to leave their homes. The compensation procedure is unclear and chaotic. When relocating people, the authorities have taken no account of the social and geographic context: fishermen have been relocated inland where they can no longer fish, and there have been conflicts between local populations and newcomers. Local people have been expected to make their already scarce land available to the newcomers.
Violent conflict
There is much frustration, especially among young people. The employment and the enormous wealth promised at the start of the project have not materialised. The work that is available to the people from Cabo Delgado is low-skilled and thus low-paid, but it does attract enormous numbers of people from elsewhere looking for work. In addition, a very violent conflict has been raging in the region since 2017. Armed militias burn houses and people are set on fire or beheaded. There are many stories about who these people are and what their reasons are, but young people in particular appear to join the group out of frustration.
Thousands of people have fled their villages. The Mozambican government has responded by sending troops to the area, but that has not made the local people feel any safer. They are picked up at random by soldiers on suspicion of terrorism or beaten up for no reason, and journalists are not allowed to enter the area or are arrested. No one seems to know exactly what the conflict is about; local organisations say that the gas extraction is one factor driving it, while the media and Mozambicans themselves have other explanations, but the government remains silent. One thing is certain: the confusion contributes to the chaos in the area.
Debt crisis
Besides all the chaos, there is an enormous corruption scandal surrounding the gas project. In 2016, it emerged that the private banks VTB Capital and Credit Suisse had secretly loaned two billion dollars to three Mozambican state companies without the approval of the country's parliament. Because the gas extraction took longer than expected, Mozambique could not repay the loans and the country was plunged into a gigantic debt crisis. The Mozambican elite, including president Filipe Nyusi, benefitted from the loans. The president is accused of having received four million dollars to finance his election campaign. That debt now has to be repaid from taxes, and possibly from the gas revenues.
Dutch involvement
Dutch companies are also involved in the gas extraction in Cabo Delgado. Dredging company Van Oord has been awarded a contract to conduct dredging activities off the Mozambican coast to free the way for the construction of necessary infrastructure in the sea. Smit Lamnalco, an associated company of Boskalis, has signed a ten-year service contract to ensure that large LNG ships can sail safely. Shell has a contract with the Mozambican government to build a Gas to Liquids (GTL) installation and make the gas suitable for the national market. Dutch export credit agency Atradius DSB has received an application from an as yet unnamed Dutch company for insurance relating to the gas project. Currently, Atradius DSB is conducting a comprehensive financial, environmental and social assessment. Both ENDS has shared the concerns of local NGOs with Atradius DSB.
Fossil fuels
The Dutch government is considering giving its support to a Dutch exporter in the gas project. The support will contribute to a carbon lock-in for Mozambique. The gas field in the north of Mozambique is one of the largest in the world, containing reserves that will take 30 years to extract from the ground.
In a context of enormous investments, extreme violence and political tensions, civil society organisations are doing everything they can to defend the rights of affected communities. Both ENDS is working together with UPC, the farmers' trade union in Cabo Delgado and Palma, which represents more than 8,000 famers in the region, mainly women. UPC is working in the Palma district to support communities in monitoring the relocation process, and regularly sits around the table with Total and the Mozambican government. Both ENDS maintains contact with Dutch parties involved in the project and, where necessary, urges them to take heed of their responsibilities regarding the environment and human rights. Both ENDS also calls on the Dutch government to stop giving public support to fossil projects.
African Development Bank In November 2019, the African Development Bank (AfDB) confirmed in a press release that it would provide a $ 400 million loan to the project in Cabo Delgado. The AfDB is a development bank and therefore operates with public money from many countries, including the Netherlands. The AfDB, like most development banks, has a "Disclosure and Access to Information Policy" which says that anyone can submit requests for information through the bank's website. The Mozambican organisation UPC and Both ENDS asked the AfDB for more detailed information about the project, but the AfDB stated that it could not provide this because of confidentiality. According to Both ENDS and UPC, this is not in line with the bank's goal to be transparent and therefore they decided - as the first civil society organisations ever - to make use of the possibility of appealing to the AfDB. This turned out not to be easy as it was not clear how to appeal and to whom the appeal should be addressed, but finally, on March 6, 2020, the organisations appealed against AfDB's refusal to share information about the investment. Pending the appeal, the AfDB already shared more information with UPC and Both ENDS. This information showed, among other things, that doubts have grown within the board about the costs and benefits of the project, about compliance with social and environmental requirements, and about reputation risks for the bank. In addition, it became clear that the AfDB loan is primarily intended to convince export credit insurers that this is a stable project. Unfortunately, the appeal was rejected at the end of April 2020, which compels Both ENDS and UPC to think about next steps. However, filing the appeal has also had positive results: not only did the AfDB share much more information after the appeal was lodged than in the period before, but also clear information has been made available about the procedure for lodging an appeal after our complaints.
|
For more information
Read more about this subject
-
Dossier
Export Credit Agencies: Who pays the price?
Both ENDS calls on the government only to provide export credit insurance to sustainable projects that cause no social and/or environmental damage in the countries where they take place.
-
Dossier
Suape: port expansion threatens paradise
Two projects insured by Atradius DSB in the Brazilian port of Suape have caused serious social problems and environmental damage. Both ENDS is helping the local people to obtain justice.
-
Dossier
Paris Proof Export Support
Almost two-thirds of the export credit insurances that Atradius DSB provided in the 2012-2018 period went to the fossil energy sector. That is contrary to the climate agreements that the Netherlands signed in Paris.
-
News / 1 April 2021
Gas extraction worsened already dire situation in the North of Mozambique
Both ENDS is shocked by the dramatic news in the past days coming from Palma, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. Our thoughts go to those who lost their lives or who are still missing, and their loved ones. Both ENDS is in close contact with our local partners to support them wherever we can. Many people are still missing, among whom members of farmers union UPC.
-
Press release / 11 November 2020
Export support for dirty energy in Africa
Since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement, rich countries have provided almost 50 times as much export support for fossil fuel related projects as for clean energy projects in four African countries. This is the conclusion of a report written by five environmental organisations from Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and Uganda, in cooperation with Friends of the Earth Netherlands and Both ENDS. The rich countries insured energy projects with a total value of 11 billion US dollars through their export credit agencies (ECAs). More than half of this export support is related to fossil fuels. Only 1% went to sustainable renewable energy.
-
Publication / 11 November 2020
-
News / 21 July 2020
Is the Netherlands insuring a controversial gas extraction project in Mozambique?
At the end of last week, oil and gas company Total announced that, through its export credit insurer Atradius DSB, the Dutch government is participating in a funding package for a controversial gas extraction project in Mozambique. The project, in which various Dutch and foreign companies are involved, is having a deep impact on the local population and the natural environment in the area. Which Dutch companies the government will be insuring is not yet clear.
-
News / 30 June 2020
Extra export support from the government must stimulate green growth
Almost 40 civil society organisations and networks from around the world, including Both ENDS, today sent a letter to Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag and State Secretary for Finance Hans Vijlbrief. They are asking the ministers to ensure that the expansion of export credit insurance as a result of the Corona crisis contributes to a green recovery.
-
Press release / 18 November 2019
Press release: Government undermines its own climate policy with export credit insurance
The Netherlands provides export credit insurances and guarantees worth 1.5 billion euros annually to Dutch companies active in the oil and gas sector abroad. This support amounts to one and a half times the annual amount that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Rutte mobilises for climate initiatives worldwide. The intended effects of Dutch international climate policy are more than offset by this fossil export support. That is the conclusion of a new report from Both ENDS which is published today.
-
Publication / 17 November 2019
-
Blog / 19 September 2019
A forgotten opportunity worth 1.5 billion euros
Reward high-risk international business projects investing in a green future and stop support for the international fossil industry
The climate is 'hot'. Everyone is talking about it. 'Everyone needs to do something' calls the government in its recently started public campaign. Good plan. Let's really do something. For a start, we can stop supporting international trade in fossil energy by our own multinationals. That would free up 1.5 billion euros which we could use to combat climate change on an international scale and at the same time give our own innovative businesses a boost. Today's Vergeten Klimaattafel (Forgotten Climate Roundtable) will discuss the opportunities for the Netherlands to have a real impact. And those opportunities are enormous. Because our big money and our influence lie beyond our borders.
-
External link / 29 May 2019
Export credit agencies’ role in development finance (Annual Report 2018)
Export credit agencies (ECAs) play a central role within the complicated web of global development finance. In 2018, Both ENDS invested in strengthening cooperation among organisations working on ECAs, building a strategic global collaboration to stop ECAs' support of fossil fuels and improve their environment and human rights record.
-
Press release / 26 March 2019
Wealthy Dutch investors to disinvest personal capital worth 200 million euros from the fossil industry
Joint press release from Both ENDS and Fossielvrij NL - 26 March 2019
A group of 22 wealthy Dutch investors have decided to disinvest all their personal capital, worth a total of 200 million euros, from the top 200 oil, gas and coal companies. The investors have pledged to disinvest all their capital from the fossil industry within three to five years. By doing so, they are giving a clear signal that they do not want their capital to contribute to disastrous climate change.
-
External link / 31 May 2018
High time to phase out support for fossil fuel industries (Annual Report 2017)
In 2017 Both ENDS stepped up its efforts to stop the Dutch government from supporting the fossil fuel industry. Phasing out fossil fuels is key to achieving the goals set in the Paris Climate Agreement. To Both ENDS, there is another reason: fossil fuel-related projects often have disastrous effects for the poorest people in the Global South.
-
News / 11 December 2017
Stop funding fossils at the 'One Planet Summit' in Paris
Yesterday, the French President Macron, the President of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, met with international leaders and committed citizens from around the world in Paris. According to the organisers, the aim of this gathering was to 'address the ecological emergency for our planet' as 'two years to the day after the historic Paris Agreement, it is time for concrete action.'
-
News / 28 August 2017
Politicians ask for sustainable export support
Last June, Both ENDS published a report which showed clearly that, through export credit insurance provider Atradius Dutch State Business (ADSB), the Netherlands is supporting the fossil fuel sector on a large scale. Between 2012 and 2015, ADSB provided billions of euros in insurance and guarantees, on behalf of the State of the Netherlands, to fossil-related export projects. This support is completely out of line with the Paris Climate Agreement. On 20 June, members of parliament Lammert van Raan (PvdD) and Sandra Beckerman (SP) submitted questions to the State Secretaries for Finance and for Infrastructure and the Environment.
-
Publication / 18 June 2017
-
News / 30 November 2016
Dutch Export Credit Agency did not prevent damaging practices in Suape
Atradius Dutch State Business (Atradius DSB) remains responsible for observing social, environmental and human rights, also after providing export credit insurance. That is the conclusion of the Dutch National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines in its final statement, which was published today. Both ENDS issued a press release about this.