CLIMATE SAVER THREATENED - Protect Congo Rainforest and Largest Peatland From Oil exploration!

Dear people,

in order to stop the destruction of the Congo rainforest, and thus one of the world's most vital ecosystems and largest CO2 reservoirs, we wish to solicit for your signature and support. The Congo rainforest is located in the African Congo Basin, which is also home to the world’s largest peatland.

This peatland which serve as a huge carbon sink as well as other nature reserves in the region are now acutely threatened by plans for massive oil exploration (27 oil fields) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And this in the midst of the current climate catastrophe!

We therefore particularly call on the aforementioned policy makers - including also all parliamentary groups in the Bundestag, Dr. U. von der Leyen (President of the European Commission), Dr. R. Metsola (President of the European Parliament), F. Tshisekedi (President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo). J.-M. Sama Lukonde Kyenge (Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and D. Budimbu Ntubuanga (Minister of Hydrocarbons of the Democratic Republic of the Congo):

1) to IMMEDIATELY use all available levers of diplomacy and international cooperation with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to stop this impending catastrophe for all of Humanity. Because: plans to massively extract oil in these geologically and ecologically highly sensitive peatlands would indeed be a disaster for humans, but also for biodiversity and the climate;

2) though it is true that the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo now intends to licence the oil drilling, however, the President had in 2021 already strechted out his hands of cooperation for the protection of the Congo rainforest as well as the largest peatland in the world. He (the President) is willing to stop the oil drilling licencing processes if the industrialised countries finally keep their promised climate protection payments and if they would increase these contributions. Policy makers should seize this opportunity to act;

3) at the same time, we however strongly implore the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure highest level of transparency and accountability in respect to use of the funds earmarked for the protection of the rainforest as well as to fight corruption;

4) these financial resources could be crucial to existential biodiverse protection of the ecosystems. These ecosystems stabilise the world's climate, while they can also help to fight extreme poverty in the region and strengthen the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

We must prevent or rather end this impending ecocide in the Congo Basin and in the Niger Delta (Nigeria) as well as in other resource-rich regions, in order to steer towards a fossil-free future - in line with the motto of Africa’s climate justice movement #PétroleNonMerci. - thus putting the slogans #ClimateSocial and #PeopleNotProfit into action.