Ocean activists protest over oil drilling approval
OCEAN lovers in various coastal communities paddled out in protest against the national government's approval of drilling rights in the Agulhas Current on Saturday.
Janet Solomon of Oceans Not Oil said the ocean activism was in response to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) approval of Italian oil corporation ENI and Sasol's application for exploratory drilling offshore.
She said despite the companies having “poor safety reputations”, they have been given the go-ahead to drill in the Agulhas Current, which is known to be one of the strongest in the world.
“Public participation processes for this application have been highly contested. Ocean users feel they have not been heard and that full consideration of public and expert input has not been taken, at great potential risk,” Solomon said.
An online petition has also been launched, demanding the application be withdrawn, as these pioneer wells will “become the deepest globally” and “will contribute to global warming and sea level rise, and threaten our future”.
AfriOceans Conservation Alliance chief executive Lesley Rochat said: “Not only is this exploration a direct threat to our coast in the event of an oil spill, which historically is a very likely event, but the continued burning of fossil fuels is destroying not only our oceans, but our world through climate change. Because our oceans are main carbon sinks, absorbing around one third of carbon emitted, excess carbon is causing the ocean to become acidic, destroying marine life.”
Head of Education at AfriOceans, Terry Corr, said they demand for their voices to be heard.
“South Africa is committed to a just transition of renewables, restoration and regeneration and our blue ocean economy should be characterised by the protection of our unique biodiversity, a circular economy, community benefits, sustainability and sustainable tourism,” he said.
DFFE referred all questions to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.
The department did not respond to questions by deadline.