Leaders from the 15 member nations of the West African regional body ECOWAS say they’re pushing for a unified front on improved fuel standards and vehicle emissions, as part of the effort to address climate goals. They’ve decided to establish a shared regional standard for petrol and diesel, limiting the…
The environmental records of oil majors with operations in Nigeria have long been placed under scrutiny, along with investigations into corruption and human rights violations. This year promises to be a watershed year for cases involving Shell entities, according to a summary from Amnesty International. The organization says at least…
Liberia’s clean-energy plans are getting a boost from the African Development Fund, which has approved a $34.7 million grant and loan package to improve renewable energy access and promote investment in the West African nation. Renewable Energy for Electrification in Liberia, the first project, has been awarded more than $33…
Ethopia, Egypt and Sudan have made progress in the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which will provide a much-needed 15,000 GWh per year in energy for Ethiopia but threatens Nile River water resources on which the other nations depend. The foreign affairs and water resources ministers of…
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he’s invited South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to help mediate talks in the stalemate over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project. Abiy made the announcement during an official visit to South Africa at the weekend, where he and Ramaphosa discussed how the latter might…
Human rights organizations in France say two Ugandans are now in danger after they testified against oil major Total last month for alleged human rights and environmental violations linked to its Tilenga project. Fred Mwesigwa, a farmer who says he has faced numerous threats since May 2017 because of pressure…
Cameroon will lose its preferred trade status under the United States African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on January 1, following the U.S. decision to revoke its status because of its human rights record. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the decision in October, but confirmed it by a proclamation issued…
The president of Equatorial Guinea will need to declare his assets in keeping with requirements set by the International Monetary Fund, in order for the West African nation to receive a US$283 million bailout agreed to earlier this month. That’s according to a Bloomberg interview with Lisandro Abrego, the IMF’s…
Some of the world’s leading tech companies have been named in a lawsuit filed on behalf of children or their survivors who were killed or injured working in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The suit was filed in a United States federal court by International Rights Advocates,…
Two Ugandans are set to appear in court in France on Thursday as a legal case advances against French multinational petroleum company Total, which stands accused of violating the human rights of people living near its Tilenga project and harming the environment. Fred Mwesigwa is a farmer who says he…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan will meet in the United States again in January, in order to move past the impasse over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and its impacts on Nile River water resources. The January 13 meeting comes two days ahead of a target for an agreement, set by…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
South Africa was the latest African nation to be battered by extreme weather, as flooding rains led to water rescues and swaths of the nation were thrown into the dark by damage to facilities of state-owned utility provider Eskom. The national weather service warned that rains were expected to continue…
Greenpeace Africa, alongside a coalition of groups from central African neighbors Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville, says it is promoting climate action from Kinshasa instead of COP25 in Madrid because eight delegates were denied timely visas. The annual climate conference is hosted in Spain this year instead of…
Frustrated South Africans suffered through another round of power cuts on Thursday evening, as embattled state utility provider Eskom warned that it needed to extend the load shedding “in order to protect the power system from a total collapse.” Eskom had earlier warned of the potential for power cuts because…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
There are at least 11,000 children working in Madagascar’s southern mica mining region, where poverty means that sometimes entire families are exposed to dangerous health and safety conditions. That’s according to a new report from human rights advocates at Terre des Hommes, which found that between 56 and 62 percent…