350.org’s unique strength and experience in connecting local voices to international decision-making makes the climate movement more powerful and strategic – when we fight against fossil fuels, and when we push for solutions for a better future.
Money is often what stops the switch from fossil fuels to clean energy. Many countries in the Global South don’t have enough resources to move away from fossil fuels and build solar and wind energy systems fast enough. So when rich countries like the UK, Germany and the US announced they would help speed the energy transition through Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), it was certainly good news.
South Africa was the first country to receive a JETP deal in 2021, followed by Indonesia and Vietnam in 2022, and Senegal in 2023. However, as these deals started to take shape, it became clear: having “just transition” in their name didn’t always mean they would fund fair and sustainable solutions. For example, in Indonesia, money was planned for fossil gas too, and in South Africa, local people and communities were left out of the decisions. We had to stand up for our rights and our future – in a connected way – and make sure the JETPs are really fair, helping bring clean and accessible energy to everyone.
In June 2024, we took a big step towards shaping these climate finance mechanisms. We brought together civil society and impacted communities around the world to launch and publish the “Global JETP Principles By Recipient Countries”. This framework was created and led by people at the local level and is meant to make sure JETP deals are fair, open, and responsible – creating local jobs, helping communities grow, and respecting the needs of the people living nearby.
Throughout 2024, we escalated our efforts to stop the destructive East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). We published a podcast and placed a documentary film on Al Jazeera, the biggest news network in the Middle East and North Africa, drawing over 400,000 views and helping tell the full story behind the pipeline and the harm it causes. High visibility and continued campaigning also led to a big win – Probitas, a major international insurance company, said it would no longer support the pipeline. That brings the total to 43 banks and 30 insurance companies that have refused to back the project!
On 20 November 2023, our Global Day of Action saw activists from Africa, Europe and North America ask big financial institutions like China Exim Bank, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to stop supporting this harmful pipeline and listen to the concerns of local communities. At the same time, we took legal action to defend seven activists in Uganda who were arrested for protesting against the pipeline and calling for investment in renewable energy instead. We continue to rally our base at times like these, and extend strong support for all those who fight for a better future.
In March 2024, we launched the #InsureOurFuture Global Week of Action. We called on insurers like SINOSURE and China Re to stop funding the pipeline. Together with our global partners, we organized protests in Uganda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as well as solidarity actions across the US, UK, and Japan. Our efforts paid off: it was after our peaceful protest in London that Probitas announced it would walk away not only from EACOP but also from the West Cumbria Coal Mine (another major fossil fuel project being considered in the UK).
In April 2024, we stood in solidarity with communities in Uganda who were protesting how land was being taken for oil projects. This process led to people being forced out of their homes and facing serious human rights abuses. Our actions got a lot of attention in Ugandan media. But in August, protests in Hoima and Kampala were once again met with violence, and 21 people were arrested. Again, 350 supported the activists while they were in jail, and provided assistance for their families. Mobilizing our global network, we also took the fight online. We asked our global community to comment on LinkedIn posts by TotalEnergies, the French company funding the pipeline. The goal was to pressure French authorities to stop Total’s escalating threats against activists in Uganda.
On the streets, internet and on TV we are showing the world the truly devastating impacts of the EACOP project. Since 2016, our campaign has ensured the project stays underfunded and delayed. We will not stop until it is canceled, once and for all.
In 2023, 350Africa, as part of the Fair Finance Coalition of Southern Africa, took bold steps to ensure a just transition with the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
While we continue to fight against EACOP, we are also working to build a better future. In July 2024, we launched REPower Afrika to help move Africa away from fossil fuels and toward clean, renewable energy. We started in Uganda and Tanzania, where EACOP threatens over 100,000 people, wildlife and water sources. We brought together climate activists, civil society groups and local communities to lead the way toward a more sustainable, locally-led renewable energy future.
Between July and September 2024, we organized events, trained communities on renewable energy benefits, use and installation, and protested against fossil fuels in cities and villages in Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin and the DRC. We called on African leaders to commit to a just energy transition, and asked rich countries like the US, EU, UK and Japan to help pay for it.
Our work shows that local action, better policies and fair funding can create clean energy projects led by communities. And we are just getting started – our efforts are already expanding into more countries across Africa!
For decades, South Africa’s public finance institutions and development banks made decisions without much oversight from civil society. After years of work in close partnership with the Fair Finance Coalition of Southern Africa, we achieved a major victory: the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) started working with civil society organizations (CSOs) again. This is an important step toward making climate finance more open, fair, and inclusive.
In March 2024, DBSA hosted a groundbreaking workshop to directly engage with CSOs’ demands, and promised to create a plan for working with these groups. Since DBSA is the main bank in charge of South Africa’s US$8.5 billion JETP, this was a big step. It opens the way for more public finance institutions to include CSOs in their decisions. This is an important move to make sure public money is used openly and with input from the people most affected by the energy transition.