The world needs to wake up fast, and respond in earnest to President Félix Tshisekedi’s call for support for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s development, including in fields such as renewable energy, education, health and job creation (Video Interview, October 19). COP27 is an important opportunity to signal such intent, as part of a broader commitment to Africa on climate mitigation and adaptation, energy, agriculture and finance.
Tshisekedi made a compelling case at the FT Africa Conference for the need for his country to transition rapidly into a more inclusive and prosperous society. He indicated that oil and gas exploration in globally vital forest and peatland areas of the DRC, including Virunga National Park, remains a viable option for his administration. It would be insincere for developed countries to expect otherwise, or set the scrapping of these licences as the condition for development co-operation.
This is particularly the case since the world’s largest emitters are so far off meeting their own emissions reduction commitments, and since they have also fallen woefully short of meeting their obligations on climate finance.
It is undeniable, as the president says, that the international community bears an enormous responsibility to support the DRC to protect its forests, and to provide major flows of finance to support the country to pursue a different economic path.
The G7 and other like-minded nations should urgently put forward a credible partnership modelled in part on the Just Energy Transition Partnership struck between South Africa, the EU, the UK and others at COP26 on coal.
Such an arrangement could be further strengthened by mobilising major additional flows of finance from the global carbon markets to the Congo Basin.
Any such partnership should be linked to a broader structural effort to support the DRC to repatriate more profits from its other assets, including its mining sector, which would generate greater employment and tax revenue — all the while safeguarding the rights of indigenous people and local communities.
Wanjira Mathai and Edward Davey
World Resources Institute
Nairobi, Kenya and London, UK
