The Democratic Republic of the Congo is impoverished: 73% of its nearly 100 million people live on less than $2 a day. But it has one asset that the Global North truly values — its rainforests, which absorb 4% of the world’s annual CO2 emissions and thus delay or prevent a climate breakdown.

The Congo wants to increase its oil development from 25,000 barrels a day to 1 million barrels — something that would improve the lives of its people and perhaps replace some Russian oil. But western nations and environmentalists are shocked at the idea, thinking it would destroy the country’s rainforests. But most such areas are theoretically protected by national law. The Congo is not just an emerging nation. It’s a sovereign nation that says selling oil would allow it to advance economically and socially.

The irony is that the more affluent countries talk out of both sides of their mouth. On the one hand, they promised $1.5 billion in 2021 to protect those rainforests. On the other, the United States, the European Union, and China are buying cheap timber from the Congo — and sometimes illegally. The threat to those rainforests — those natural CO2 vacuums — is not oil. It is ravenous consumers. Even worse, it’s a modern version of colonialism whereby the Congo gets pennies for its wood while the buyers manufacture and sell the finished goods at premium prices.

“Large forest areas are getting cut down because our people need to live. They live in poverty, and they need energy,” says Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, climate specialist for Congo’s Ministry of the Environment, in an interview with this writer.

“They are clearing the forest for food and fuel,” he adds. “They cut wood to cook and stay warm. Only 9% to 10% of our population has electricity. We believe the country has the sovereign right to use natural resources to reduce poverty and increase economic growth. It’s disingenuous to tell us otherwise.” If the country can increase its wealth, it will then have the means to protect its rainforests.

The average age of a Congolese is 18. Most lack formal education and the skills that would allow them to survive in a modern economy. About one-in-five people have a job that pays a salary. Subsaharan Africa is rife with poverty. But one in six of those are living in the Congo. For example, many workers mine for lithium, cobalt, and copper — the things that go into electric vehicle batteries. Richer countries will buy those minerals at cheap rates. But they assemble them and sell the finished product to car makers such as Tesla
TSLA
and General Motors
GM
.

Fair Compensation

To be clear, the Congo has banned new logging since 2002. But it is difficult to enforce the law because the country is vast, and the government doesn’t have the resources to properly monitor it. Illegal logging will continue as long as the United States, China, and the European Union want virgin wood for such things as flooring, furniture, or packaging.

A Chatham House 2014 study discovered that 87% of the logging in the Congo was illegal. The country lost about 1.2 million acres of rainforest in 2020, adds Global Forest Watch.

“International companies, whose supply chain demands continue to drive forest destruction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and beyond, must support local efforts to develop conservation-based economies and protect some of the most vital ecosystems on the planet,” says Nicole Rycroft, director of Canopy, an environmental nonprofit that works with companies to shift supply chains away from forests, in an interview. The aim is to build “robust conservation-based economies, rather than those that rely on the depletion of natural resources.”

There are a few ways to get the illegal timbering to stop. For starters, the Congo could do what Gabon has done — to ban the export of raw wood. Instead, it would finish the wood and sell the end-product or high-end furniture. Companies could also prioritize sustainable packaging.

Importantly, the Global North could pay the rainforest nations to monitor and maintain their trees. To that end, REDD+ rewards countries for saving their rainforests. They account for their trees and set strategies to stop deforestation before they can sell carbon credits. Admittedly, the Congo is still in the assessment stage, which is why it must rely on direct payments.

Billions have been promised since 2009. And last year, the developed world pledged $1.5 billion between 2021 and 2025 to protect the Congo Basin. The Congo has to take steps to stop deforestation — hard to do without adequate resources. The money has never arrived. Norway, though, has invested $150 million in the country. But Mpanu says only about 30% of that money gets there. Administrative costs eat the rest, leaving the Global South with little faith.

According to the OECD, between 2008 and 2017, more prosperous countries vowed to give Central Africa $2 billion to protect their forests. Germany, European Union, and the United States led the collection efforts, paying much of the $806 million. But the report says that the Congo Basin only got 11.5% of the money targeted to sustain the forests and preserve nature. Most of the cash shielded the Amazon Basin and Southeast Asia Basin.

Reversing Deforestation

At last year’s global climate meeting, rainforest nations generally pledged to reverse deforestation trends by 2030 — backed by $20 billion in donations from public-private interests. Indeed, commercial logging is responsible for at least 20% of global deforestation. But exporting only finished goods and relying more on sustainable packaging would curb that. Companies such as Nestlé, IKEA, and Unilever are committed to sustainable solutions and saving trees.

Still, the Global North is hypocritical. It demands change. Yet, it also requires raw timber and raw materials. Which is it?

“We are between a rock and a hard place,” says Mpanu. “The Congo is part of the solution to the global climate crisis because of our standing forests. But we need to look at the levers that will generate jobs and income while still allowing us to manage our forests and reduce poverty. The Congo already has offshore oil: 25,000 barrels a day. If we start extracting, we will reach 1 million barrels daily.”

Oil development makes up 4% of the Congo’s $10 billion budget. If it increased production to 1 million barrels a day, it would alleviate economic stress. “We want to have an informed discussion,” says Mpanu.

That means implementing best practices and directional drilling, which would leave behind a benign environmental footprint. The Congo is committed to reducing its CO2 emissions by 21% by 2030 from a 2010 baseline. At the same time, the Congo is planting millions of new trees. Some potential oil deposits are in the rainforests, which would require surgical drilling. But some areas are off-limits. That includes three national parks — each the size of Belgium.

“We will not condone climate and environmental colonialism. Oil will not destroy the forests,” says Mpanu. “The money could accelerate our sustainability goals — the way it has done for Norway. Before you criticize, come to us: there’s no running water, no roads, and no electricity. The government will demand carbon neutrality, and our oil partners will have to compensate for the greenhouse gases they emit by financing reforestation and conservation.”

Without new industries, direct payments, or carbon credit sales to maintain the rainforests, the cycle of poverty will never end. Climate change is disruptive economically and social — similar to COVID19 but with potentially irreversible consequences. It’s no longer a luxury to muse about such threats. We are now seeing the hazards — record-high temperatures worldwide, raging wildfires, melting ice caps, and flash flooding.

The Congo Basin is the earth’s lungs — nature’s way of cleansing the atmosphere. If its rainforests are not maintained, the tipping point will soon come, and there will be massive repercussions. Investing in the Congo doesn’t just mean new consumers for global products. It means something much more — stabilizing the planet.

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