STOP EACOP

On July 26th, activists from the Ugandan diaspora and from organizations like 350.org, the Black Hive, and DRUM joined together at the AIG office in Manhattan to demand that they refuse to insure EACOP. Activists peacefully blocked the entrance to the AIG building with a banner reading, “AIG, the people say: STOP EACOP.” Ten activists were arrested — including people from 350Mass, 350New Hampshire and 350Brooklyn.

While the East African Crude Oil Pipeline(EACOP) would be thousands of miles from NYC, its financiers come from across the globe, including in the United States. So activists have united across the world to target everyone who is funding or insuring EACOP and allowing it to continue.

This U.S. protest takes place during the Summer of Heat, an entire season of sustained civil disobedience protests targeting Wall Street and big banks for their role in fueling the climate crisis. It is also part of a global movement to pressure Global North companies like Total, and the banks and insurers who back them, to drop the EACOP project.

Organizers around the world have pressured many banks to drop EACOP — and of the 27 banks who initially pledged to finance the pipeline, only two remain. 29 insurance agencies have also already vowed not to insure EACOP — but AIG has stubbornly refused to rule it out.

Molly Ornati of 350 Brooklyn, said, “The EACOP pipeline is a doubly destructive disaster — for the people of Uganda and Tanzania, and the planet. The construction of the 900-mile pipeline will disrupt and destroy the homes, land and livelihood of 100,000 people along the route, as well as the surrounding water and ecosystems. Once built, it will be a carbon bomb for humanity. In the climate crisis there are no borders, and we are a global movement, united in support of frontline communities, fighting to stop the greed of fossil fuel finance.”