DRC in Flames, Big Oil in Fortune – Oil Change International

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is home to one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems and one of the largest carbon sinks left on Earth, second only in size to the Amazon rainforest and encompassing more than half of the Congo Basin rainforest.  The peatlands of Cuvette Centrale in DRC and the Republic of Congo, estimated to be the largest continuous tropical peat complex in the world at 145,000 km2 and a storehouse of approximately 30 gigatons of carbon, equivalent to two years of global greenhouse gas emissions, have recently been opened to potential extraction by the government’s decision to put 52 new oil blocks up for bid. This lifeline for the planet is under attack again with news of reopening of this area for potential oil bids. Already, resource extraction beyond fossil fuels is driving conflict, displacement, and ecosystem destruction to the people of DRC while benefiting multinational corporations and complicit politicians. Instead of delivering peace and prosperity to its people, The DRC government plans to advance oil and gas exploration in the country’s most fragile ecosystems, with destructive fossil fuel companies standing to benefit. These activities threaten not only the future of the DRC but the
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