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Blog / 26 February 2024

Impacts of the fossil fuel sector in Guanabara Bay

Last September, together with our Brazilian partner FASE, Marius Troost of Both ENDS visited Guanabara Bay (near Rio de Janeiro) to map the impacts of the fossil fuel sector there. During the trip, he was struck by the braveness and fearlessness of the local fisherfolk who protest the injustices faced by the people who live around Guanabara Bay and about the damage done to the environment.

'We were alerted to the threats to people and environment in Guanabara Bay after it was announced that the Dutch company SBM Offshore would be involved in facilitating extraction activities in the area.' SBM Offshore has built a floating oil and gas drilling rig (a so-called FPSO) that will be used in Santos Pre-Salt oil and gas field, which is serviced from Guanabara Bay.

Insured by Dutch state

This FPSO was insured by the Dutch state via an export credit insurance. Both ENDS has advocated against this project from the start, arguing that it is completely unresponsible to finance new oil and gas projects that will continue to emit greenhouse gases and pollute the environment for decades to come.

Report about pollution of Guanabara Bay 

Marius: "During our visit, the local fisherpeople Deize and Alexandre took us around the bay, pointing out the extreme pollution caused by the fossil fuel industry and talking about the threats and violence they themselves faced as a result of their activism. I am grateful we are now able to share their story, through the report we published February in Down to Earth magazine.

In it, we describe the pollution of Guanabara Bay by the fossil fuel industry and the threats to the livelihoods of local fisherpeople. Daize and Alexandre tell the story of how they have protested against the fossil fuel industry encroaching on the bay and also how they have developed tools to map and record wrongdoings to hold these companies accountable.

Hopefully by alerting more people to the brave resistance by the fisherpeople in Guanabara Bay, we are better able to protect them and their livelihoods and put an end to the fossil fuel companies destroying Guanabara Bay."

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