Deutsche Welle published on 4 August 2026 an article titled "South Sudan: How Climate Change Can Turn Toxic" by Buster Emil Kirchner and Marco Simoncelli.
Devastating flooding in South Sudan's Unity State in 2021 continues to have negative impacts on the environment and the wellbeing of people living in the affected area. More than 50 of South Sudan's 400 oil wells remain submerged, which has contaminated water and farmland. This has led to a variety of health problems.
The BBC posted on 2 December 2025 an article titled "Devastating Toxic Spill Seen as Test of Whether African Countries Will Stand Up to China" by Mayeni Jones.
The collapse in Zambia of a tailings dam for a Chinese copper mining company resulted in a toxic mess for the local population. It is now up to the Zambian government to hold the company fully responsible. This has become a test of how hard Zambia is willing to pressure a company whose government holds $5 billion of its debt.
Foreign Policy published on 4 December 2025 an article titled "Africa Was the Biggest Loser of China's COP30 Triumph" by Nathaniel Mong'are, speaker of Kenya's Young Parliamentarian Association.
Beijing, in the absence of the United States and wavering of the European Union, asserted leadership at the COP30 summit in Brazil, preserving the status quo for Big Oil, petrostates, and the world's largest emitters. While China, which produces a third of the world's emissions, was the summit's de facto climate champion, it received a positive reputation that it does not deserve. The losers were African countries whose mines and forests are experiencing environmental damage by Chinese extraction companies.
The BBC published on 25 November 2025 an article titled "Ethiopian Volcano Eruption Sends Ash to Delhi, Hitting Flight Operations" by Abhishek Dey.
An Ethiopian volcano dormant for several thousand years recently erupted sending an ash column to India, where it interrupted air travel.
The Business & Human Rights Resource Center posted on 6 November 2025 an article titled "RDC: Les autorites suspendent les activites de la societe miniere CDM apres une pollution par une fuite d'effluents industriels."
The Democratic Republic of the Congo suspended the operation of Chinese company Congo Dongfang Mining following a serious spill of industrial effluents, polluting several districts in the city of Lubumbashi. The company had no control system and no emergency plan to deal with such a problem
The Wall Street Journal published on 27 October 2025 an article titled "China Pushes to Silence Victims of African Mining Disaster" by Nicholas Bariyo and Stanfrance Zulu.
The collapse in Zambia early this year of a toxic waste pool at a Chinese copper mine inundated homes and fields downstream and polluted a major river. Zambian authorities say it will take at least 3 years before the fields can be used to grow crops.
The Chinese company responsible for the spill is experiencing severe criticism for its handling of the disaster, the amount of compensation offered affected farmers, and an effort to silence any criticism of the company.
Africa News published on 29 September 2025 an article titled "Zambian Farmers Sue Chinese Mining Company over Toxic Spill" by Dominic Wabwireh.
Dozens of Zambian farmers filed a lawsuit against Chinese company Sino-Metals Leach (SML) alleging that a massive toxic spill from its mining waste has contaminated their land and water. They are demanding $271 million in compensation from SML, which says the lawsuit is unfounded.
News Diggers recently aired a 54-minute video documentary titled "Chinese Investment in Zambia -- the Good, the Bad, and the Dangerous" by Joseph Mwenda.
The documentary focuses on environmental damage caused by the collapse of a copper mine tailing dam controlled by Sino-Metals Ltd., sulfur dioxide released into the air by Avocado Mining Ltd., and dangerous working conditions in artisanal copper mines where Rong Xing Investment buys much of the production.
China's embassy in Lusaka tried to prevent the airing of this controversial documentary.
The Associated Press published on 16 March 2025 an article titled "A River 'Died' Overnight in Zambia after an Acidic Waste Spill at a Chinese-owned Mine."
A tailings dam that holds acidic waste from a Chinese-owned copper mine collapsed in February, contaminating the Kafue River, Zambia's most important waterway.
Reuters published on 28 August 2024 an article titled "Red Sea Insurance Nearly Doubles after Attacked Oil Tanker Appears to Leak Oil" by Johathan Saul and Mohammed Ghobari.
Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked and set on fire recently a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea carrying a cargo of one million barrels of crude oil. It appears to be leaking oil and could have grave environmental consequences along the shores of the Red Sea. Insurance companies have almost doubled the rates for shipping through the Red Sea.
Comment: If this becomes a major oil spill, one of the most affected countries would be Yemen. What are the Houthis thinking?
RAID in collaboration with African Resources Watch published in March 2024 a detailed report titled "Beneath the Green: A Critical Look at the Environmental and Human Costs of Industrial Cobalt Mining in DRC."
The report found that the rivers, lakes, streams, groundwater, and wetlands near the DRC's cobalt and copper mines are severely polluted by mining activities. The mining companies in the study were all large European or Chinese multinationals.
Chinese companies and China loom especially large in this study as China accounts for about 60 percent of global passenger electric vehicle sales and is the biggest global consumer of cobalt with more than 80 percent being used to manufacture rechargeable batteries. About 65 percent of global refined cobalt is produced in China-based facilities. Chinese investment now backs about 70 percent of the DRC's mining sector.
The Africa Center for Strategic Studies published on 9 April 2024 an analysis titled "Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean Attacks Expose Africa's Maritime Vulnerability" by Francois Vrey, Stellenbosch University, and Mark Blaine, retired combat officer with the South African Navy.
African citizens are paying the price of delays, more expensive consumer goods, disruption to local economic entities, and polluted waterways from Houthi maritime attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Africa's ports are struggling to handle the current volume of freight and cope with the security impacts from these delays and late arrivals. The crisis calls for a recalibration of African maritime security efforts to help keep the trade routes open, safeguard communications cables, and protect the rule of law.
El Pais published on 10 May 2023 an article titled "The Curse of Sudan's Gold: Why One of the World's Poorest Countries Fails to Profit from Vast Reserves" by Patricia R. Blanco.
The article describes the role of gold in contributing to the funding of the current conflict in Sudan, especially the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
CNN Business posted on 10 December 2020 a story titled "Activists Are Fighting for a Renewable Future in Sub-Saharan Africa. Chinese Coal Projects Threaten to Dirty Those Plans" by Eoin McSweeney.
Chinese companies continue to push the construction of coal power plants in Africa despite objections from environmentalists and Xi Jinping's call early this year for green development and carbon neutrality in China by 2060. African governments have been eager to move forward with cheap, dirty energy projects that only Chinese banks will finance.
