DR Congo Oil Auction Setback to AfricaClimateCrisis Fight DRC DRCongo Congo ClimateChange AfricaClimateHope
Licensing rights for 30 oil and gas blocks in the DR Congo went up for auction on July 28 2022, opening parts of the world's second-biggest rainforest to drilling that could release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, jeopardising climate goals to tame global warming.
The oil and gas blocks extend into Virunga National Park, the world's most important gorilla sanctuary, as well as tropical peatlands that store vast amounts of carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere and from contributing to global warming. Despite the government's reassurances than none of these zones are in environmentally sensitive zones, analysis has shown that nine of them overlap with protected areas in the world's second-biggest rainforest including the Virunga UNESCO World Heritage site.African Arguments, 23 August 2022
The DRC has two main goals in selling oil blocks that overlap with the world's second largest rainforest. Neither involves developing oil.
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