Activists in Paris Wednesday called out two banks involved in the financing of a controversial fossil fuel project in Africa, part of a coordinated protest across a dozen of cities worldwide.
About 30 young campaigners from the Stop Total collective demonstrated in the 8th arrondissement in front of the French offices of Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Britain's Standard Chartered.
They demanded that the banks pull back from the East Africa Crude Oil Project (EACOP), a 1,443-kilometre (900-mile) heated pipeline that is being jointly developed by France's TotalEnergies, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), along with the state oil companies of Uganda and Tanzania.
SMBC are financial advisors to EACOP's operators, together with South Africa's Standard Bank.
Standard Chartered has reportedly expressed interest in financing the project, which including the development of oilfields is expected to cost $10 billion.
"We are here to push these banks into disclosing internal reports, which we know have been drafted, assessing the environmental and societal risks of the EACOP project," Ulysse Vassas, the member of Stop Total who coordinated the international day of action alongside NGO 350.org, told AFP.
"They say that EACOP is aligned with the Equator Principles, but we have no proof."
Neither bank immediately responded to a request for a comment.
The Equator Principles are a set of guidelines requiring banks to take into account the social and environmental impact of projects they finance. SMBC and Standard Chartered are among the 138 signatories of the voluntary scheme.
A report by three NGOs in July highlighted the non-compliance of EACOP with a host of criteria set forth in the Equator Principles, challenging the commitment of the project's financial advisors and lenders.
The project has run into strong opposition from rights and environmental campaigners who say the oil fields being developed around Lake Albert threaten the region's fragile ecosystem and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people.
TotalEnergies said in October it would "do everything possible to make it an exemplary project in terms of transparency, shared prosperity, economic and social progress, sustainable development, environmental awareness and respect for human rights".
Positioned in front of the bank, demonstrators fashioned a red line made of sticky tape to symbolise the Equator Principles.
"Which side are you on?," said a sign held by one of the protestors.
"Twenty four major banks have already committed to not supporting the EACOP project," said Raphael, a protester.
"We want SMBC and Standard Chartered to pick the right side and be the 25th and 26th members on the list."
© Agence France-Presse
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