Behind the scenes of COP27, as decisions were being made on how to tackle the climate emergency, at least 15 new international oil and gas deals were being concluded. Eight of those were with African countries.
"It's not about African development, but about Europe's energy needs,” said Omar Elmawi, a StopEACOP campaigner in Kenya, who is trying to stop or at least pause construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline by French and Chinese multinationals.
COP27 began in Egypt just as Europe’s winter started to bite and gas prices soared. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced Europe to diversify its gas network for energy security – but instead of turning to renewables, European leaders hotfooted it to Africa to develop new gas fields and fast-track fossil fuel projects.
