Gambian MP chastises West’s ecological hypocrisy on Africa
The West must stop lecturing developing countries about climate change. According to a parliamentarian of the Gambian National Assembly, this regularly exploits African countries’ petrochemical resources and then accuses Africa of greenhouse gas emissions produced by its consumption.
The West must stop manipulating the world with its hypocritical moralism on climate change, writes Muhammed Magassy, a member of the Gambian National Assembly, in an article published in the Daily Telegraph on December 18.
For example, he recalled that Norway recently announced that it would fund a satellite map of the world’s vulnerable forests, with data available for free download, to help fight deforestation in the south of the globe. The project is ostensibly a gift to the green movements, according to him.
But Mr. Magassy finds it curious that the gift is being offered by one of the world’s leading gas exporters and contributors to carbon emissions.
“Why then is Norway spending its resources on an initiative outside the country when its own responsibility for climate change is so important?” The answer is simple: “it is part of a deplorable model,” says the author.
Western environmental double standards
He said Western countries have long focused most of their environmental efforts on developing countries to shirk their overwhelming responsibility in the climate crisis. This double standard is reflected in a discourse on the “Green Deal,” which neglects the challenges facing the poorest countries, which leads to a kind of “green colonialism”.
Mr. Magassy notes that despite the tensions around Brexit, the UK and Europe have together supported activities that are devastating for Africa’s environment. Despite its “Green Deal”, the EU plans to invest $100 billion in fossil fuels, including Africa.
Requirements for reducing carbon emissions from developing countries
The United States, Britain, and Europe all continue to import oil and gas from African producers while demanding that developing countries help reduce carbon emissions, he recalls.
The MP points out in this regard that although Boris Johnson has recently pledged to cut government funding for fossil fuel projects overseas, that does not prevent massive funding of these projects by private companies.
“Africa is regularly exploited for its petrochemical resources by Western companies, then blamed by Western consumers for the greenhouse gas emissions that their own consumption and economic demand produce,” he reveals.
As an example, he points to Boris Johnson, who has announced zero carbon plans by 2050, while British oil and gas platforms are the most polluting in the North Sea, and their production must be increased to 25% by 2030 in the absence of any industry remediation plan.
