According to Greenpeace, European investments in energy and agriculture in Egypt and Morocco have little added value to the local economy and extract resources to the north worldwide.
European governments, financial institutions, energy and agricultural companies claim they are advocating for investment in green energy projects in North Africa. For the mutual benefits of all stakeholders.
However, they in fact perpetuate the cycle of host countries’ resource depletion, economic dependence and environmental degradation, and worsen climate impacts, the campaign organization argues. New Report.
scramble
“We’re a great opportunity to see the world of greenpeace and North Africa,” said Hanen Kesque, a campaign in Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
“In countries such as Egypt and Morocco, investment in renewable energy and green hydrogen must prioritize regional development, sustainability and justice, rather than perpetuating the dynamics of the neocolonies.
“The transition to a green economy cannot replicate the injustice of the fossil fuel age. It requires the needs of the most affected people to be innovative, inclusive and inclusive,” she adds. Ta.
This means cancelling unfair debts and surcharges, terminating fossil fuel funds and adopting progressive taxation, she explained.
The report cites examples of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis. European countries scrambled to secure gas from Africa and the Middle Eastern countries when Russia cut 80 billion cubic meters of pipeline gas, promoting their own consumerism.
inequality
Europe has invested heavily in Egypt, earning approximately 38.8 billion euros in 2020. That was about 39% of total foreign investment at the time.
European investment in Egypt is increasingly focusing on green hydrogen production for exports to European countries. Signed last February Of the $40 billion renewable energy projects and green hydrogen trade, according to GreenPeace.
The report also points to fraud that Egypt exports fossil fuels to Europe, but suffers from a fuel shortage for domestic consumption. Local communities are forced to withstand energy blackouts and burn more polluted fossil fuels domestically.
for example, Egypt is increasing domestic use of dirty fuel To release more gases for export to Europe, such as Mazut, a blend of heavy hydrocarbons containing toxins such as sulfides and heavy metals.
Similarly, European agribusiness investments in Morocco and Egypt focus on export-oriented cash crops such as tomatoes and citrus fruits. The extractive industry also deepens gender inequality by pushing women into low-paid, unstable roles and increasing the burden of unpaid care.
New Colonies
The report recommends that current European energy investments and the resulting projects will be replaced by grassroots initiatives and community-centric renewable programs.
Foreign companies investing in the Global South need to conduct comprehensive environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) generated by countries and communities that are most affected by financial institution policies and developed through participatory community processes. There is.
In particular, paper Published in Nature Wealthy countries conclude that they are effectively outsourcing deforestation through the demand for products such as beef, palm oil, wood and soybeans.
These products tend to be grown in countries with tropical forests. In other words, rich countries were responsible for the destruction of 13% of the global loss of forest habitat outside their borders. In the United States alone, 3% of the world’s non-US forest habitats were responsible.
The countries that had the most important influence overseas included the United States, Germany, France, Japan, China and the UK, according to the survey.
This author
Katherine Early is a freelance environmental journalist and chief reporter Ecologist. Find her at Bluesky @catearly.bsky.social.
