At the UN, Félix Tshisekedi defends calls for tenders on oil blocks
“There is no relevant international legal instrument ratified by the DRC prohibits it from exploiting its natural resources for the sake of environmental protection” -Tshisekedi
DRC President, Félix Tshisekedi took advantage of the United Nations platform on Tuesday to discuss the environmental aspect of the call for tenders launched on July 28 by the DRC for the exploration of its 27 oil blocks and 3 gas blocks. He acknowledged that this call “seems to be unnecessarily controversial in the international public arena”.
According to the Congolese Head of State, “no relevant international legal instrument ratified by the DRC prohibits it from exploiting its natural resources for reasons of environmental protection or for fear of the aggravation of global warming”.
He also recalled that the 2015 Paris Agreement recognizes the right of developing countries to emit C02 for development, but taking precautions for the global climate through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). .
“Thus, the Government of the DRC has set itself the objective of exploiting, in compliance with environmental standards, the country’s natural resources and transforming them locally to give them added value and boost the national economy, in particular through the creation of liquid wealth and jobs in order to improve the living conditions of the Congolese people”.
He tried to be reassuring about the methods to be used: “Adequate strategies and measures have been adopted and taken to avoid negative impacts on the environment. They provide, like other African and European countries that have taken up this challenge, the exercise of effective government controls. It is a question for the DRC of achieving its economic and social objectives by preserving its forests and continuing to remain the solution country for the fight against global warming. My country remains open to cooperation with any partner willing to help it achieve its goals”.
At the heart of this decision, the fight against poverty: “At the economic level, the bet to be won is that of giving the chances of recovery to the economies of countries weakened by the collateral effects of climate change and the corona virus in order to promote a balanced global economic growth and halt the worsening of poverty in developing countries. We cannot meet this challenge without internal efforts of good governance at the national level, neither productive investments of wealth, nor real transfer of sufficient financial resources to those who need them”.
The oil and gas blocks put up for sale by the Congolese government were also discussed in early August during the stay of the American Secretary of State in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite this project, the head of Congolese diplomacy Christophe Lutundula wanted to reassure his counterpart and public opinion that the DRC is not going to abandon its commitments to be a solution country in the protection of the environment and the fight against climate change.
This is how the two parties agreed on the establishment of a working framework that will address environmental issues related to the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas, given that certain blocks concerned touch peatlands.
