WHY NO TO GAS

In 2010, 10 trillion cubic feet of liquid natural gas (LNG) were discovered in the Rovuma Basin off the coast of Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique. Since then giant fossil fuel companies and banks, and wealthy states stuck their claws into the pie and before any gas has been produced, thousands of people have been displaced from their homes and farmlands, construction has already had an impact on the climate, and the industry has fueled a violent conflict that has created almost 1 million internally displaced refugees.

Gas is a fossil fuel. Gas is not a transition fuel, gas is not clean, gas is not green.
Gas is as bad for the earth and humanity as oil and coal, in some ways, even worse. While it only releases a small amount of CO2, it releases massive amounts of methane through extraction and leakages which in the short term, is a far more concentrated and potent greenhouse gas than CO2.

It has an irreversible impact on climate change, it causes permanent destruction to the environment, and like all other fossil fuel projects, it has left behind suffering of peoples in its wake, almost always left worse off economically and socially, and host governments, mostly developing countries in debt. This is exactly what is happening in the gas industry in Mozambique, and while the LNG projects are only in the construction phase, already devastating damage has been done.

Now Cabo Delgado is home to Africa’s three largest LNG projects: Mozambique LNG (led by Total, formerly Anadarko) worth $24 billion, Coral FLNG Project (led by ENI and ExxonMobil) worth $8 billion, and Rovuma LNG (led by ExxonMobil, ENI and the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation) worth $30bn.

Even though gas extraction in Mozambique is not new – Sasol’s Pande and Temane Projects have brought little revenue to the government and displaced surrounding communities- Mozambique remains one of the poorest and least developed countries and one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world. The 2018 statistics from the World Bank show that less than 30% of the population has access to electricity.

Despite the incredibly limited access to electricity in the country, the liquid natural gas (LNG) projects will not benefit Mozambican citizens lacking access to electricity, since most of the gas will be transformed into LNG and immediately sent to other countries, in particular markets in Asia and Europe.

The gas extraction rush in Mozambique entirely contradicts the imminent need for a transition towards a renewable energy economy. Mozambique has excellent natural resources for solar energy production, but gas moves the narrative far away from this, and in reality, discourages it.

Gas will not bring any ‘development’ to Mozambique – fossil fuel companies have brought nothing but suffering thus far. There is absolutely no reason to believe the LNG industry in Cabo Delgado will be any different.