8 February 2019, Johannesburg — In response to the announcement that French oil giant Total has just made a significant oil and gas discovery 175 km off the southern coast of South Africa, Greenpeace Africa’s Senior Climate and Energy Campaign Manager, Melita Steele, has said:
“Greenpeace Africa strongly condemns Total’s reckless oil exploration off the coast of South Africa. Discovering yet more oil and gas is not something to celebrate when burning fossil fuels is driving potentially catastrophic climate change. This is essentially oil that we cannot afford to burn in the face of extreme weather conditions and recurrent droughts.
“Deep sea drilling is far too risky. The possibility for an oil spill always exists, and the environmental impacts of deep sea drilling for oil and gas are too significant to be ignored[1], with very little benefit or job creation for South Africans. It is reckless of the South African government to allow oil and gas exploration to go ahead, and unfortunate that this was lauded as a victory at the State of the Nation Address last night.
According to NASA, 2018 was the fourth warmest year on record, and it is clear that if we are serious about stopping the worst impacts of climate change, then some fossil fuels must remain in the ground. This country is blessed with some of the best renewable energy resources in the world; it’s time to back renewable energy, and stop the reckless and dangerous dash for fossil fuels.”
Notes to the editor:
- The drilling process also creates massive sound and light disturbances, which has been shown to be detrimental to marine life.
Media contacts:
Chris Vlavianos, Communication Officer – Greenpeace Africa, [email protected], 079 437 4208
Discussion
The plan to drill & pump oil or gas from the ocean bed off the Cape South Coast is as absurd as painting a classroom whilst the kids are there Our most lucrative income is tourism; it being in a accommodation, sightseeing, travel, food or various activities the area offers . The enormous job opportunities this create & the way it uplifts our communities, at the same time creating happy interactions amongst locals is truly our prime accet . Reducing the tremendous interest that tourists show in our marine ecology & its exiting features is as much as cutting our lifeline. Expecting the fossil fuel industry to replace our small but stable economy is highly risky. This may soon cause a dramaric income reduction to many viable & stable factors of this portion of the Cape. If we calculate who will benefit from this operation, and who will eventually care if the sensitive eco system of plett 's marine ecology falls apart The non-sensible look at the ocean as a life provider , instead as a living unit & as a part of the Earth as one life is the selfishness that brings man to the situation he faces now I sincerely hope someone in the top structure of our economy will wake up to the fact that sunshine in Africa is & will be our best friend if tapped on a bigger scale .
Go take a look at what happened in Indonesia, Lombok. The Indonesian Mud Volcano. 16 villages were destroyed within 2 minutes after the drill hit a gas pocket. I was there ten years after time occured. 26 odd scientists were questioned in Caoe Town after the incident. Only 6 or 7 were sentenced. There was no answer as to how many people really died that day. The entire story was buried 6 feet underground as if it never even happened. I stood 50 meters from the crater that has been erupting continuously for the last 12 years and still is. And you are concerned about the tourism? You should be concerned with the potential loss of life if anything should go wrong, not too mention the potential seismic activity that can be caused globally. If you drill in the ocean and there is an oil spill and that oil starts burning in a densely populated area, it will be a disaster of extreme consequences. Not too mention if that drilling is taking place in a harbor. Shipping industry could be destroyed permanently if anything goes wrong. So the risks that are taken are very high and it is a double-edged sword. Is the risk worth it? Can you live with it on your conscience if you knew that you supported the project with open arms and then a disaster occurred? I know I wouldn't want that , because I could have saved lives and should have protected the environment and those who can't protect themselves, yet I decided to sell myself out for materialism. Stay Safe. Stay Inside.
Environment and people come first before profit. It is time we switch to renewable energy.
As an ordinary South African citizen I have nightmares about this going ahead. Apart from Total, who are the players in South Africa? What can be done to expose this on the world stage in a BIG way and to gather international support?
Thank you for your comment. We do not have that information yet. We totally agree, all culprits must be held accountable.