Despite growing global awareness of climate change's destructive effects, new fossil fuel projects continue to emerge. To meet the Paris Agreement, we must transition from fossil fuels to regenerative systems that ensure justice for those most affected by our current extractive practices. Many Global Greengrants grantee partners are fighting for a just energy transition by stopping the expansion of extractive industries.

Activists in Africa, for example, are working together to stop the 1,445km East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). In a 2023 report, Human Rights Watch called EACOP "one of the most significant fossil fuel infrastructure projects currently under development globally." Once completed, the EACOP would extend from western Uganda to eastern Tanzania, making it the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world. The EACOP poses enormous threats to local livelihoods, as thousands of people have already been relocated to make way for the pipeline, many of whom received insufficient funding to relocate and rebuild elsewhere. EACOP would also pollute sensitive ecosystems, much like extraction-related pollution has caused devastating consequences in Niger Delta ecosystems. It would also lead to the extraction of an estimated 246,000 barrels of oil per day for 25 years, which does not bode well for global efforts to keep fossil fuels in the ground, transition to renewable energy, and mitigate catastrophic climate change. In addition, there have been highly publicized arrests of activists who have attempted to advocate against EACOP's development.

The #StopEACOP movement is a diverse network of grassroots groups, activists, and NGOs. They employ a collective, multi-strategy approach with dual aims: to halt EACOP construction, and to destabilize broader extractive economic models and create alternative, more just futures. Since 2021, Global Greengrants has funded over a dozen projects that are not isolated initiatives, but part of the larger #StopEACOP network. Our grants strengthen grassroots power in the region, supporting movements to create a stronger political infrastructure to address the underlying systemic challenges that perpetuate environmental breakdown and injustice.