her the greatest, the whole society space that he with whole local elections that you know, perhaps was born with broader macroeconomics stability that might start to trickle down. but of course, that hasn't entirely happened and some of that has been a lack of political. well other things have been just global shocks. but this is really contributed to this overall feeling of delusion. and this is, this is what you know, could potentially see the emulate, not fair as well as it has had in previous elections. dampier lays been accused by human rights groups of corruption, clamping down on dissent. rights groups have also expressed concern about the transparency of these elections. the votes will all be counted through a new centralized system in the capitol due to a recent change in the electoral law. pushed through by the ruling and pa, results are not expected for a few days. stephanie decker or 0. ah,

reminder of our top story is allowed to 0. it's 6 months since russia invaded ukraine, which marks the milestone on its independent, same large gatherings were ban because of warnings of russian or tags. meanwhile, the un security council held an open session to discuss the war. both the ukrainian president and russia's ambassador to the united nations had a chance to address the meeting. so lensky used the moment to call attention to a possible nuclear catastrophe of the russian held apparition power plant. what's happening right now is that russia has put the world on the brink of a radiation catastrophe. it's a fact that the russian military has turned the territory of the largest nuclear power plant in europe. does a parisian nuclear power plant into a war zone. russia is responsible for our provocation, shelling and deployment of terrorists on the territory of the station under the russian flag. now, europe and neighboring regions faced the tread of radiation pollution. on the

solution zeppelin, we bought it new, our former western partners instead of condemning their ukrainian mentees are supplying them with more and more new types of weapons which reach areas which keep could not previously reach them and doing this, they are becoming accomplishes in crimes against a civilian population, when in israel says it can't accept a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal with iran. warney a will be used to destabilize the world. it follows accusation summer arms nuclear chief, that israel has been waging what he calls psychological warfare to sabotage. return to the agreement, iran's denied us media reports that it dropped some of its key demands. under the deal, iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in return for the easing of international sanctions. as been renewed fighting between ethiopian government forces and troops from the northern region of decry, ending a months long cease fire. the ethiopian government says its army shot down

a plane carrying weapons to cray, which entered ethiopian air space from neighboring sudan. the exact location where the plane was shot down is unknown. rebel forces into cray say the government stalemate statement rather is a blatant lie. and sedans military has not responded to the claim. okay. those were the top stories here now to 0, stay with us. the stream is coming up next. don't go away. ah ah, i as i may okay to day on the street, we're talking about the congo basin. that is the location of the world's 2nd

largest rain forest. it is also home to tropical paint lands, the world's largest tropical paint lands. it is a carbon sink which means that it absorbs carbon dioxide. rosalind creates carbon dioxide and also the natural habitat for gorillas. soon to be also the site, the gas, an oil prospectus, take a look ah, with an estimated pertain to not for me to bring in bottles of oil in the me, made it immune to basins and 66000000 cubic meters of me then gas and they keep them, do ya see is a new destination of investments for oil and gas companies. from 28 to 29 july 2020 to the hydrocarbons ministry of t. r. c will organize a bidding on for exploration and production rights on $27.00 petroleum floss anthony gas logs in. they keep international and national oil and gas companies. i invited to join the beans, d r c,

as in new destination for investments. welcome to darcy. today's show is the democratic republic of congo, putting all and gas revenues ahead of the global climate crisis. joining us, we have simon, and bone. they're going to give us their expert takes nice to have both of you with a simon itala audience. what you do, i'm a scientist, i work on climate change and tropical forests. so i've worked in the congo basin for many years now trying to understand his role in the global climate system gets a happy and am fung. welcome to the stream, tell our audience what you dig. a thank you for me. i've been overtime as equalization. add to this to i think of myself as having a pension for amplifying the stories of communities, speaking up for their rights to a silver healthy environment and standing up against the greed of big business and

the vested interest of governments. and with most importantly, i'm head of communications with greenpeace africa, which gives me plenty of opportunity to tell those stories are i'm looking forward to those stories. so audience, viewers watching right now, if you're new to the comment section, is open and available for you. many of you, i know, understand the pros and cons of natural resources and fossil fuels. what are you think about the d r c opening itself up for oil and gas prospectors, but your comments, your questions right here. we did try to involve the d. r. c government. let me tell you all of the people that we reached out to ministry of hybrid hydrocarbons. the environment ministry, the ministry of communications. he said, yes, yes, we do want to be on the stream and then completely ghosted us. but i am so glad that we have been born and simon, because they are right here, i wouldn't dream of ghosting as if you're watching government of the asi at comment section of you chief, please, please be part of our shape. all right, so let's take a look at this area in the congo basin,

where there are opening up options and bidding for oil and gas prospectus i, if you look around the edge, you see what those red areas are. those are the areas that are going to be up for, for bidding right now, all the way through to april of next year. simon, what do you see in that graphic and, and, but i'm gonna ask me the same thing. what does that say to you that well, to me is there's a big problems on the horizon. because those red areas, my team estimate cover $11000000.00 hectares of tropical rainforest. all of the, all the communities that are living there, all the plants and animals within the 11000000 hectic is 1000000 hectares of tropical people. and some of the most carbon dens you could distance. and if those areas are opened up, even just a loop for oil,

then that could open the floodgates to wildlife loss, deforestation, and all sorts of problems for the local communities. they're involved from a community perspective. if there's an opportunity for the communities in those areas where they're going to be prospecting, or is it opening up some real problems for them in terms of what their land will look like? what, what farming will look like, what their livelihoods will look like? for me, i will tell you what i see there is i'll ride cartridge by the government of the d . c on these people. and of course, the wildlife, the areas that you mapped in rate, a very rich ecosystems that does causing some of the most p c. national reserves in the geography. and it's home to millions of people. i think we are over 40 villages just between the been by lake region and the equator,

prevents which could be africa had the privilege of visiting just before the options happened on july 28th. and for this communities, what they see is complete disaster because you will recall it's over for 60 years now. 40 is more, more to be exact. that's some of the alarm who already transformed into conservation parks, which were very, which meant restrictions to how they could function and how they could operate. and then for the past they could, they've been having to deal with the team. but in the got t, my exploration and a full from mrs. king with that and to, to know that the atlanta up for auction has been a sort of fear of despair and outreach for this community. so what i see there, it's, it's, it's nothing but college and total disaster for the communities that are leaving. and standing on this lands, i want to bring into our conversation. allen, connie is a congress journalist. he's been reporting on this is ocean,

that is happening right now in the d. c. l is really good to have you. when you're reporting on this, this is a good news story for people in the geography. thank you very much for the me and i don't think it may be a good news for you, but you know the people are a little bit. what did they know very well. it's not resources which the government does. it have to change the tissue as the government is trying to convince people that this really includes what is up with the budget and also the come of the country if you will allow, for example, the country to tackle detroit. the 2 issue we come from these guys the oil or opening for us to, to do for the, for us to, to come inside it. when you talk with people you discuss with the population that you don't feel like people really warm about the idea because they know very well.

but out of the for it which the know and also we have towers and need to know people are living their life depend on for with and also the lake which ours are targeted by the government with this project. people, they do know me well that it is not about this is all about money for the nutrition or government, but it's not like it. this will change more. something to build, especially like the new world. this is all about politics and politicians trying to, to, to talk to some of the different project for their own, for, for the own interest. so yes, people are not really. they don't take it as a big story or a big achievement, which the government may, may achieving the coming they buy. they do believe that it's all about money and so on. but the countries still have so many capacity to do to get money than the other

option by using the option. as i said, this is interesting because on youtube and book and signing on you just as a conversation about but the d r. c, it needs to be developed, isn't this a good opportunity to have funds to develop the d. c, because it isn't at the moment among but you know, i'm long and then you start guide. well, let's go julie, you know, because we, when you go into the gym for these up with a few people, they all know that we have, for example, you know, i mean we, which we have to kind of be developed. if you let you said i'm ready, so remind you to remind our audience how many minerals would be off the have the most of the, i think the big result of cobalt, for example in the region we have right now the country is trying to open a legion on its rotation in the time that this will be

a $1000000000.00 in company in the country. and also we have been living with this municipal years right now. but people still the same question that i was saying previously, what the countries did with the money from the mean. that was, what are we doing with the money from the mean it was up to now it is all about really on that we are talking about a year. so it's not like a capacity. yes. and i think that makes a very good point for me because we need to understand that if sending off resources to the highest speed was the way for the d. c, to improve its economy to become, to, to, to, to look after the interest of its people as the government has been saying over the past month. that they did years, who would be a g 7 nation by now. but that's that, that approach a very, a very new colonial approach of extraction and shipping out of the country has

still persistently, i'm happy and been mentioned to read about the reactions on the ground. because that is exactly what our team also found out when we're visiting some of the villages or the communities that will be affected by the auction. it is complete outreach because they know that government after goldman, they've been given promises of how selling of the forest would make life better filling selling of the the call by that all of the other minerals who transformed your life. but those promises have nobody li, bye, and it's gonna be the same 310 years after this, oil pipelines are a buried and all seek out of the darcy. it will be the same situation. it will be hardship, and for that is fearful communities who are leaving lives. now, depending on the, on the makes wealthy, she, depending on the forest for food and all of that will be taken away from them. some i want to share a video with you and it goes back here there's, there's 2 clips side by side. so one is november 2021. and this is at cop. and then

we go to july 2022, which is a in kinshasa, where the auction begins. the same person is in both of these cases, present felix cesar, cattle and in one he is promising to preserve the rain foyce and the other one he's offering up. it'll slots of land the people to prospect in then. same suits, different message, a cycle up live for a few months and the forests of the congo basin represents the 2nd lung of the world and contribute largely to the regulation of the global climate balance. however, this fast forest is exposed to the risks of deforestation expose in the framework of the effective implementation of the paris agreements. it is imperative to take into account the mitigation of these risks as otherwise a major ecological crisis could result you. it's erica, in a win win partnership that respects environmental standards and the interests of

local communities. with these words, i am delighted to solemnly launch to day the bidding process for 27 oil blocks and 3 cas block. ah, what happened, simon? well, who knows exactly what happened and then obviously it's up to the government to decide how to manage different obligations. internationally and nationally, what i find so shocking about this and it shocks the international community is there, this oil option was announced very hastily and with 0, no environmental or social or other impact assessment of what the impact might be of this oil exploration. and that is, i think just anti democratic to, to push this on to the calling people without having done the underlying work and

presented to the call to the people. these are the likely impact of going down this route versus delay the impacts of going down another route. how can any, will make a sensible decision about whether this is a useful way to go or not. and i think that's because really, they know deep down that this is not a sensible way to go. and i think crucially, what a lot of people missed in this debate is that nobody knows how much oil is there. there might be no, that's commercially viable extractable. so there may be a case where people put in very low bids. the government make very little money and then they open up the forest to go and do the oil prospecting and let in the commercial hunters that the end of all the animals, the illegal commercial loggers. and that's the end of the big trees. and then is

this opened up, degraded forest stays, very easy slated for outright deforestation. so you could have millions of tens of before a station in the heart of the congo basin for the even know benefit financially to the congress has gotten. this is entirely and gone through and really needs a reassessment which is why i was very glad that the u. s. government recent the data. they were very unhappy about speed. it was happening without all the safe cause and checks in place, and they needed to be slow down and to do all the studies before thinking about going ahead. let me, let me play. that was the secretary of state entry blank and in the d. c, quite recently, assignment was saying, i just going to play for our audience what he said and the key points in the summer . so let me share them with i would it's festival back up 26. the world data

collected pledge of $1500000000.00 to support the congo patients course. so in that context, we had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and gas exploration blocks. we agreed to work together to establish from a working group to help congolese achieve a balanced approach responsible development of the resources that contributes to those economic growth and generating jobs by conserving irreplaceable forests and other ecosystems. and by undertaking development projects only after carrying out rigorous environmental impact assessment, the d r c can act on behalf of all the world's people to protect our shared home. let me ask you a few questions as our audience are watching on youtube, and they want to ask you some questions. i'm gonna ask you the quick questions. i need a quick answer so we can cover a lot of territory. okay, sure. vance says,

the pursuit of eco friendly endeavors is different for africans whom alan, what do you make of that? come again on the question. the pursuit of eco friendly endeavors is different for african. so africans, i'm a different approach to the environment sustainability preserving they rang for us than of the regions of the countries all the continents. yeah. different. this is exactly also the case with when i was coming in in the debate. busy my colleague talking about the tissue in the pot, for example, today if you take, for example, the protein while the parent open the water, you will see for example, the only 2. nobody should be something because we have this big box which supposed to be open. but this is one of the part that the, the conky need to use each for tourism, but they are unable 1st of all to provide even the cute for to it in this buck to

provide money for the countries and nothing is really good on t today. that even these people will be walking on this point project in this box will be a coupe. this will create another security if they can with the issue individual. if you take, for example, the problem which are generated in the, in the region, you take the nigel data, for example. you know, how many groups of down been created at these issues of petroleum nigeria and you take the case. now in the most part, you split or block, i look at it in what you, what one more than 150. i'm to group in the region and all of these people will be turning out the turning around. mean it all and water will be turning around, dispatch or issues. this is exactly the problem that people should think about because we are unable to secure the 4th. and now we open the pitcher or the cloud.

it is not the same. yes. what is the events isn't coming through from an africans perspective there, it's a complex conversation. i'm going to bring in such thirties from the rain forest, the lights for the d all see the country director and ball. i was wondering, as i was thinking about this prospecting or opening up the congo basis for potential oil and gas exploration. i was wondering about does the d r the government have any environmental if it's a tool? and then search came forward with this positive spin polezza. jessica mentioned the local to presented jessica place, and also we should be able to receive it also took a look. this one on sunday. and so i want to talk, i'll be moving from one guy. he just doesn't want to be

maintaining lots of us posted voice. i've had him his entire conversation so far. for me, that's upon to boys, which is a positive actually because you know that the kids in protected areas overlapping the areas of the auction for oil and gas exploration. so to see that the d. c. government has done is due diligence is faulty. it's nothing but palsy, in addition to that, it is, there is no way we can sit here and say that that the government is doing its best . because even before the came on, when we are nouns, they've been case after case of in the go for a concessions being granted by one minister after the other amendments mentioned that at the beginning is really about every member of the, the leads thinking of how to read and solve as soon as they can before the me fall and i think that's what is happening with oil block options as well. it is nothing,

this living, environmentally friendly. we know that no environmental impact assessment was conducted and that is the least you do before going ahead with a project like this. if you really care about the environment. so joan on youtube, so i'm sure this one with you because i come to think about it. be convenient like cop particularly cop 26 where the developed world had a start from the developing world. didn't know natalie have a big enough seat at the table. so jonah says no one can tell, no one in africa can tell the united states where to drill for oil. but they seem, i'm going to finish the sentence of thought here. they think the things that they can tell africans what to do is then natural resources. thought simon, yeah, i completely agree with that. it's a real, it's a real problem, the global and balance of power. and for me, as a scientist,

what we should be providing is the information and then the congress, people, and the congress goldman can make the best decisions with the best available information. it shouldn't be for people from outside to make those decisions far. we do have to remember that we live in a very globalized world now, and that should be to the benefit of d, r c. and it's forests. now we all know about no whole diseases from covey 19, and they're all novel diseases, no doubt. in the depths of the congo forest, an opening up for all x rays and having people go in there and come out reg, in the increases the likelihood of another one of the novel diseases spreading around the world and the cost of that people and the cost of that the global economy vastly. ready our way,

any income from the oil and gas. so it is incumbent now on the united states in europe. another place to tell hunger how to develop. but they should be to helping as much as possible about how they can develop in new ways and not the way to the past, which is is in sheets of providing all materials for the west has to be a different way for along there and, and atlanta i know you're familiar with this as africans, we often talk about the, the natural resources cuss. but i actually think it's not really about natural resources. it's about leadership and maybe the corruption so spilt pe, he is a professor of political science and i think he sort of, i was going to say he, you know, he named the gorilla in the room, which is very appropriate for this conversation. this is what he told us earlier, or revenues could generate billions of dollars of revenues for the democratic republic of congo government that it could potentially use to provide

infrastructure to help the poorest in the country. however, congress track record of doing this with its mining revenues is atrocious. congo as record of using its resources that well from its resources is atrocious. could it change? could 2023 be different alone? it very, it's very tough to log, which would be whether you'd be deeper there probably. i mean i i and we're, we're just, we're just lost alons microphone laser. now is one question left simon. it's just the very end of this conversation because we're talking about the world's 2nd now's rain for us being a carbon sanctum. and what it brings to us is a global community in a sentence, can you sum that up? so we don't forget what we might be disturbing if we prospect in that area.

sure that the congo basin is removing around $1500000000.00 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every single year. that's what it's doing to help you manage the of which the d r c government and d r c. people currently get no financial, no finance from that. and that has to change. we have to recognize what an important place disease. thank he, simon. thank you. m bomb than me like alan as i thought we own collins and collections on youtube as well. excellent questions. appreciate it. i'll see you next time. take half a buddy. ah ah.

in south korea, you generations tightened the stage shaking up social media session. any time when our ace made the world's oldest influence on out there. which side is winning chaos or control? what does the new forever proxy war mean for america and nato? as long as americans keep consuming prices are going to keep going up. why didn't joe biden, the inflation comic? how did we get so much raw? the quizzical look. us politics, the bottom line. ah

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