Financiers of East African Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project potentially in breach of Equator Principles, report finds
"TotalEnergies’ East African pipeline breaches international environmental and human rights standards" 5 July 2022
A new analysis shows banks supporting the East African Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project would be in non-compliance with their commitments under the Equator Principles.
A new report assessing the East African Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and associated oil fields against internationally recognized environmental and human rights standards for financial institutions finds numerous violations, putting banks at risk if they sign on to support the project. The assessment, undertaken by the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), Inclusive Development International (IDI) and BankTrack, suggests that the project is not in compliance with many of the criteria set forth in the Equator Principles and the Environmental and Social Performance Standards of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), two internationally recognized standards for responsible finance.
“The EACOP project developers have committed to adhere to the IFC Performance and other international standards. However, while implementing the EACOP and its associated upstream oil projects, the developers have come short in complying with the standards,” says Diana Nabiruma, AFIEGO’s Senior Communications Officer.
She adds, “Communities perennially complain about being denied the opportunity to give informed consent during land acquisition processes. Many have also said that the compensation being offered to them by the developers will not restore them to their original positions. Instead, they will be left worse off. The full extent of the environmental and climate change risks and impacts of the EACOP project also largely remains unknown by host communities.”
“It is clear that the beautiful commitments to adhere to international standards are largely left on paper,” concludes Nabiruma.
The Equator Principles are a set of voluntary standards adopted by international financial institutions to ensure large scale development or construction projects effectively manage and mitigate associated social and environmental risk. The principles are largely based on the Environmental and Social Performance Standards of the International Finance Corporation, a standard-setter for responsible development. [...]