Climate change affects everyone, but its impacts are felt most acutely in the Global South, where vulnerable communities are disproportionately affected by extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and food insecurity. Yet, many developing countries lack the resources and infrastructure to effectively mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. To address this challenge, the international community has established climate finance mechanisms to spur investment in climate-resilient infrastructure and sustainable development. In this article published by the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, we explore the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and how it is leveraging climate finance to support its adaptation efforts. Through this case study, we draw lessons for other countries in the Global South looking to mobilize climate finance to build a more resilient and sustainable future.
In July 2022, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) created controversy by announcing an auction for oil and gas leasing rights to 30 parcels of land covering 800,000 square kilometers of its territory. These blocks include carbon sequestering peatlands, rainforests, and habitats for mountain gorillas, and the DRC opened the auction to large publicly traded and investor-owned oil and gas companies, as well as carbon credit and cryptocurrency companies. However, the auction was not initiated to promote oil and gas exploration or generate profit, but rather to leverage increased climate investment and influence the global climate change conversation ahead of the annual United Nations global climate change summit (COP27).
Previous research suggests that the Congolese hydrocarbon sector is primarily used for corruption and rent extraction, rather than serving as a viable industry for international investment. The country’s political elite benefits from the sale of time for meetings and talks about the sector, while developing the hydrocarbon industry is not a national priority. Major oil companies that have previously attempted to work in the country, including Chevron, TotalEnergies, and DIGOil, declined to participate in the July 2022 auction. The auction was, therefore, primarily intended to gain leverage in the international climate policy debate and to facilitate binding financial commitments from the global north.
In the international climate change policy, the concept of ‘loss and damage’ refers to the idea that countries in the global north should compensate countries in the global south for the damages they suffer from climate change caused by the former. The DRC aimed to highlight the potential costs of its climate vulnerabilities, and as the fifth least prepared and the twelfth most climate change-vulnerable country in the world, this auction served as an opportunity to bring attention to its climate-related issues. The DRC coordinated with other African oil and gas producers and hosted pre-conference meetings, facilitating a conversation about loss and damage that would inform the negotiation agenda in Sharm el-Sheikh. The auction aimed to highlight the potential costs of not meeting Congolese needs and demands, underscore the urgency of tackling climate change, and emphasize the need to prioritize developing countries and their climate issues.
Since 2009, the DRC has participated in the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) process, a mechanism for assessing the impact forests have on climate change prevention and limiting deforestation. The country has also formed a strategic alliance with Brazil and Indonesia to coordinate their rainforest conservation efforts. The three countries are home to approximately 52% of the remaining rainforest land and wish to establish international systems for carbon credits, green finance, and restructuring poor nations’ debt related to debt-for-nature swaps.
The DRC’s efforts to coordinate initiatives on loss and damage ahead of the UN climate conference and successfully Steward REDD+ issues set out a pathway for developing countries to gain leverage internationally by working multilaterally. Developing countries must work to develop binding climate change agendas in multilateral institutions, including the African Union, the LDC Group, ASEAN, the G20, and the UN Security Council. Multilateralism is their best tool for increasing their leverage vis-à-vis richer countries, as it allows countries in the global south to act as a bloc when their interests in the climate crisis diverge from those of richer countries. Therefore, the DRC’s auction could set out a larger strategy for countries in the global South to replace the revenues and perverse incentives that fossil fuel development brings.
In conclusion, the DRC’s auction of oil and gas leasing rights aimed to gain leverage in the international climate policy debate and facilitate binding financial commitments from the global north ahead of the COP27 summit. The auction and the country’s participation in the REDD+ mechanism serve as an opportunity to highlight the potential costs of climate change and prioritize developing countries and their climate issues. By strengthening multilateral institutions and acting as a bloc, developing countries can increase their leverage vis-à-vis richer countries and replace the revenues and perverse incentives that fossil fuel development brings.
