7 July 2026

London - Four Ugandan farmers have today filed a first-of-its-kind case in the High Court of Justice against EACOP Ltd, the UK-registered company behind the East African Crude Oil Pipeline - one of the world’s most controversial fossil fuel projects.

The claim asks the High Court to apply Ugandan constitutional, climate and environmental law to EACOP Ltd, the project’s UK-based entity. It is believed to be the first time that Ugandan climate and environmental law has been brought before a foreign court.

The farmers argue that EACOP Ltd’s role in developing, constructing and operating the pipeline breaches Uganda’s own legal protections for people, nature and the climate, including the right to a clean and healthy environment. The claim relies on Uganda’s National Climate Change Act 2021, National Environment Act 2019 and constitutional protections for a clean and healthy environment.

Dr Joana Setzer, Associate Professorial Research Fellow at LSE’s Grantham Research Institute and Associate Member of Cornerstone Barristers, and a leading expert in climate litigation, said : “ What makes this case unique and important is that it brings together corporate accountability and prevention. The timing is critical: it is being brought before the harm occurs. It asks whether courts can act before a spill, before the emissions, and before the damage is done .”

Leigh Day, the firm leading the case, has previously acted in major cross-border corporate accountability cases before the UK courts, including claims by Nigerian communities against Shell over oil pollution and migrant workers’ claims against Dyson over alleged forced labour linked to factories in Malaysia. But this case goes further: it asks the High Court to apply Ugandan climate, environmental and constitutional law to a UK-registered fossil fuel company before the pipeline becomes operational.

Matthew Renshaw, partner at Leigh Day , said: “ EACOP Ltd is a UK-registered company behind a pipeline with the potential to cause devastation in Uganda and beyond. Our clients are bringing this claim under Ugandan law, which allows individuals to seek relief where a company’s actions threaten efforts to adapt to or mitigate climate change. They believe EACOP is a stark example of that risk. ”
EACOP is nearing completion, but oil has not yet started flowing. This timing is central to the case: the farmers are seeking remedies that include an injunction stopping oil from being transported through the pipeline, as well as compensation and other legal relief under Ugandan law.

Samuel Abedilembe, Ugandan farmer and claimant from Hoima district, whose land was partly acquired for EACOP, said : “ I lost 42% of my land to this project. I now have less land to cultivate and less food to support my family. From an acre, I used to harvest 18 bags or more. Now it is hard to get even six. The community is going to be hit by hunger. We are saying no company, however powerful and however far away, should come and destroy our lives and take away our land. Our land is our life. ”

EACOP is set to become the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world, carrying crude oil from Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. Its route cuts through the Lake Victoria basin, a critical water source for around 40 million people, and could affect 158 wetlands in Uganda, 11 rivers, 44 protected areas and seven Key Biodiversity Areas. More than 100,000 people in Uganda and Tanzania have been affected by land acquisition linked to EACOP, including families who have lost homes, farmland, access to land or livelihoods.

Rachael Tugume, Ugandan farmer, community leader and claimant displaced from her land for the EACOP project, said : “ We had our rivers, we had our water sources where we used to get water. But during construction works, they did not consider those water sources. They did not consider the wild animals or the domestic animals that depend on them. We are scared that there will be oil spills, that oil will be poured into our waters and into our soils. I am happy that today there are people listening to us and supporting us, because what EACOP is doing is not good for our communities. ”

EACOP is already under pressure on every front. More than 40 banks and 30 insurers have ruled out support, hundreds of organisations are campaigning against it worldwide, and the project has announced only $755 million in debt financing - far short of the $3 billion loan originally sought. Today’s filing adds a new legal front to one of the world’s most contested fossil fuel projects.

Marc Willers KC, barrister at Garden Court Chambers in London and legal adviser on the case: “ Once the pipeline becomes operational, it will enable a huge quantity of greenhouse gas emissions to be released into the atmosphere, worsening an already critical global crisis. This action is not just important for the communities affected by EACOP, but for ecosystems, endangered species, and future generations .”


Notes to editors

• One-to-one interviews with the lawyers, claimants and legal experts can be arranged on request. Please contact laure.fourquet@avaaz.org
• LSE ’s Grantham Research Institute’s Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation: June 2026 Snapshot provides wider context on the rapid growth and evolution of climate litigation globally.
• Earth Insight ’s May 2026 report highlights EACOP’s risks to East Africa’s freshwater systems, protected areas and biodiversity.
• BankTrack’ s October 2025 EACOP Finance Risk Update details the project’s financing challenges and growing risks for banks, investors and insurers.
• IEEFA ’s January 2026 report, Reassessing Oil in Uganda, finds that Uganda’s oil industry is delayed, over budget and likely to deliver lower-than-expected returns.
• In June 2026 , a French court ordered TotalEnergies to include emissions linked to the use of its oil and gas products in its climate vigilance plan
• A legal background briefing with further detail on the case, the remedies sought, the applicable Ugandan laws and the EACOP project is enclosed to this email.
• A recording of the press conference is available here (passcode: 6kL+8f*r)

For more information, interviews, or background materials, please contact:
Laure Fourquet - laure.fourquet@avaaz.org - +33 6 67 69 33 82

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