United States Climate Envoy John Kerry on Tuesday said Washington had asked the Democratic Republic of Congo to abandon some oil blocks that it put up for auction in sensitive environmental areas.

The DRC's government launched bids for 30 oil and gas blocks in the impoverished central African nation in July.

But the move was controversial, drawing criticism from green groups which warned that drilling in the Congo Basin's rainforests and peatlands could release vast amounts of heat-trapping gas.

Speaking to reporters at the pre-COP27 climate talks in Kinshasa, Kerry said the United States had asked the DRC's government to "withdraw some tracts to protect the forest".

The former US secretary of state also said there was a way to provide employment and economic development without putting sensitive environmental areas such as "really critical peatlands" at risk.

"We want to balance," Kerry said, adding that he was due to meet Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi to discuss the issue later today.

Scientists have sounded several warnings about the DRC's peatlands, which comprise an area about the size of England.

Around 30 billion tonnes of carbon are stored across the entirety of the Congo Basin, researchers estimated in a study in Nature in 2016. The figure is roughly equivalent to three years of global emissions.

The Congolese government has maintained that exploiting its oil and gas resources is an economic necessity that could help its citizens.

Some three-quarters of the Congolese population live on less than $1.9 a day, according to World Bank figures, despite the DRC enjoying huge reserves of minerals, ranging from gold and copper to cobalt.

Addressing delegates at the pre-COP27 opening ceremony on Monday, Congolese environment minister Eve Bazaiba asked if the government should let children die rather than profit from its fossil resources.

"As much as we need oxygen, we also need bread," she said.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Crude prices rally as top producers mull big output cut
Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 3, 2022
Oil prices jumped more than four percent in Asian trade Monday as reports said OPEC and other top producers considered slashing output. WTI climbed 4.5 percent to $83.06 and Brent piled on 4.4 percent to $88.83 ahead of a meeting of the group this week in Vienna, with Bloomberg News saying officials were discussing a one-million-barrel-a-day cut in output. Bloomberg added that the move - which it said delegates to OPEC had not finalised - would be the biggest since the pandemic began, when cru ... read more