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Russian fossil fuel imports blocked amid global anti-war effort
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Activists block a rail track leading to the Russian-owned oil refinery of PCK-Raffinerie GmbH in eastern Germany.
Global Justice Now joined hundreds of organisations around the world in March calling for governments to urgently stop buying Russian oil and gas following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Dock workers and environmentalists blocked tankers carrying Russian imports into the UK, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and the US. The G7 committed to
phasing out Russian oil in May, but so far European countries have failed to agree a ban. The UK is less dependent on Russian imports than other European countries like Germany, but this has not stopped the fossil fuel industry opportunistically arguing for more domestic North Sea oil and gas extraction in response to the crisis.
In fact, renewable energy remains the cheapest and quickest way to replace fossil fuel imports and bring down bills. Meanwhile, more than 13,000 people were arrested in the first two weeks after the invasion following anti-war protests across Russia. Ongoing protests have remained small owing to heavy repression.
Investors desert East African Crude Oil Pipeline More than 20 financial institutions have said no to investing in a controversial $3.5 billion oil pipeline, which French oil giant Total and the China National Offshore Oil Company plan to build connecting oil fields in Uganda with the Tanzanian coast. The pipeline would transport oil generating over 34 million tons of carbon emissions each year, threatens 6 Ninety-Nine 2022
to displace thousands of families and farmers and poses water risks including to the Lake Victoria basin. In May, Deutsche Bank became the latest bank to turn down the project, following an international campaign backed by an alliance of more than 200 African and international organisations. “As a continent, we should know better before submitting to corporate
colonialism and extractivism and fiercely refuse to succumb to the charm of the dying fossil fuel industry,” said Ugandan climate activists Hilda Nakabuye and Mulindwa Moses. Activists blockaded the AGM of Total in Paris in May, leading to the meeting being cancelled.
