French oil and gas company TotalEnergies' Congo subsidiary is suspected of pollution, according to an investigation led by Mediapart, Mongabay, and Domani, alongside documents acquired by Climate Whistleblowers. According to the findings, the Djéno oil terminal is causing serious health and environmental damage to local populations.
The Climate Whistleblowers' press statement reads:
The investigation is mainly based on confidential documents obtained by CW. It confirms the environmental damage identified in a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) carried out in 2016 for the TotalEnergies subsidiary. It detailed multiple pollution incidents and their impact on coastal residents and endangered species, including turtles and hippopotamus.
To date, mitigation measures seem vague, insufficient or even ineffective. The inhabitants of Djéno, a fishing town, are particularly affected by environment-related illnesses such as cancer, dermatitis and lung disease, which could be due to air and water pollution. In 2019, TotalEnergies had already been ordered by a Congolese court of first instance to pay damages to the Association Jeunesse pour la Vie du Kouilou and to clean up the Loubi lagoon, which is “very biologically rich”, according to the PAB. In 2020, the Pointe-Noire Court of Appeal temporarily suspended the application of this judgement, according to a report by Amnesty International.
“It is unthinkable that this type of environmental study is not systematically made public,” said Gabriel Bourdon-Fattal, co-director of CW. “It is necessary to guarantee the transparency of information that affects the general interest, and public health.”
“Local populations in Africa are the first victims of pollution emitted with impunity,” said CW board member Fadel Barro. “Once again, they are the ones paying the hidden costs of an economic model that does not benefit them. They are being kept in the dark when they are entitled to the truth and reparations.”
These revelations are part of the “Burning Skies” publications. The investigation focuses on gas flaring in Djéno, and more widely in Africa and the Middle East, and is being conducted by fourteen international media outlets coordinated by the Environmental Investigative Forum (EIF) journalists’ collective and the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) media network.
Read the full story here (French version): Un rapport interne prouve les ravages de TotalEnergies au Congo-Brazzaville
CW is an NGO dedicated to protecting individuals who expose wrongdoings that worsen the climate crisis and ensuring their disclosures are impactful.
For more information and to visit Climate Whistleblowers' website, click here.