Blog Categories: environment

Californian Food Products Irrigated With Oil Production Wastewater Might Arrive in Europe

Brussels, 8 August 2016 — A report by Food & Water Europe shows the worrying link between toxic oil production and what we eat and drink. Extreme oil extraction techniques produce millions of liters of toxic wastewater. In California, the oil industry has found a way to get rid of this wastewater by selling it to local public water agencies, which, in turn, sell it to farmers to irrigate crops. The EU is one of the main importers of Californian food products.

In Kern County, in California’s agricultural Central Valley, up to half the water used by farmers in one local water district is “produced”—that is minimally treated and diluted oil waste water— from nearby Chevron operations. Wastewater tested in California contained toxics like carcinogen benzene. Although the wastewater is treated, drilling chemicals can persist. No regulations specifically address the treatment of drilling wastewater in the U.S. state.

“The use of oil wastewater for agriculture is not properly regulated in California, said Frida Kieninger, campaign officer at Food & Water Europe. “We don’t have any data on the extent to which crops absorb the chemicals in the wastewater, or what the human health consequences might be. Producers are not even required to label food exposed to such irrigation. With so little information, Californian regulators are playing Russian Roulette with the safety of consumers”

California is among the top agricultural exporters in the U.S. About 80 percent of almonds consumed globally come from the Golden State and one-third of California’s almond exports are destined for the EU. Wine, pistachios, walnuts and raisins are also exported to EU member states, especially to Germany, Spain and the UK.

“Food imports from California make the issue not only of concern to Americans, but also to consumers globally ”, added Frida Kieninger. “The fact that food irrigated with toxic oil chemicals might end up on our plates and in our stomachs is completely unacceptable. European authorities must take action, especially in the context of the TTIP negotiations.”

Get the Report: Fracking and the Food System

Contact: Frida Kieninger, Campaigns officer, Food & Water Europe, +32 (0) 2893 1045 (land), +32 (0) 487 249 905 (mobile), fkieninger(at)fweurope.org

Mention of Fossil Fuels Absent from COP Agreement

Statement by Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Europe

Paris and Washington, D.C. – “This agreement coming out of the Paris COP falls far short of what is needed to actually address our climate crisis. The science is clear: We need to take swift and bold action if we are to have any chance of preventing the worst impacts of climate change, yet this agreement does not contain the mandates and funding to make this happen. It doesn’t mention the words ‘oil’, ‘gas’ or ‘fossil fuels’ at all-all of which we must swiftly transition away from to avert climate crisis. There is overwhelming support across the United States and throughout the world for bold action to address our planetary crisis. Communities need to continue organizing and holding their elected officials accountable so that they ultimately deliver the solutions we all need.”

Contact: Geert Decock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org

Broken Promises, Light Touch Regulation – UK Fracking Policy a Failure

Brussels, 14 December 2015 – The UK Government’s stated goal “to assure the public that the shale industry is being taken forward in a measured and reasonable manner” is a failure, according to a consultation response submitted by Food & Water Europe today.

“The disconnect between the Government’s sunny promises and its actions is glaring, and people can tell when they’re being sold a pup,” said the organisation’s EU Policy Advisor Eve Mitchell. “They break promises, sideline Parliament, and all the while the Government keeps saying, ‘Trust us.'”

The Government is consulting on proposals to restrict fracking from wells “drilled at the surface in specified protected areas”, appearing to portray the impacts of fracking as confined or containable. Yet water contamination, for example, can happen deep underground long distances from the well heads, due in no small part to modelling that is not sophisticated enough to reliably predict what will happen when huge pressures and temperatures are forced into complex natural systems.

“Clearly, National Parks are no place for fracking, but that’s not the point,” said Mitchell. “For a start, new rules mean protected areas can be ringed by wells fracking from below. Damage is inevitable, unpredictable and uncontrollable. Well placement, while important, can’t fix that. People won’t somehow be convinced that fracking can be safe just because the Government says so when they’ve already broken big promises.”

In January, the Cameron-led Government made an unequivocal “public commitment to an outright ban on fracking in National Parks, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty”, raising public expectation that a ban would mean a ban. Yet, since then:

  • The Government moved to renege on its promised fracking ban in SSSIs and raised disquiet by going through Committee (avoiding Parliamentary debate) to permit fracking non-vertically under protected areas.
  • The Government announced that local planning authorities must fast-track fracking applications, and the Government can now decide (over the heads of local people) in any appeals companies lodge.
  • The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced that Cuadrilla’s controversial application in Lancashire for the UK’s biggest fracking project to date would be the first appeal decided this way. Cuadrilla’s fracking in Lancashire was halted in 2011 by earthquakes the company admits it caused.

Mitchell added, “Far from reassuring the public, this kind of thing reminds everyone that promises can be broken and regulations can be altered if the ‘burden’ on business is deemed too high. This is too important to get wrong, it’s dangerous economically and environmentally, and the Government isn’t even being strict about liability when things go wrong. While the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Governments begin to apply the brakes, England will be left to bear the brunt of the UK Government’s ambitions for fracking. We’ll all feel the effects if we don’t stop it.”

“The dislocation of UK Government policy is clear to the whole world thanks to the COP21 climate meeting in Paris. Back home, we know the only sensible approach to fracking is to ban it. The experience of other countries is shocking, people don’t consent and they’re right to object. Fiddling with the fine print isn’t the answer.”

For more information please contact:

Eve Mitchell, EU Policy Advisor – +44 (0)1381 610 740, [email protected]

Food & Water Europe Echoes Calls to Allow Peaceful Protests in France During COP21

Statement from Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Europe

Brussels: – “Food & Water Europe supports our French and European allies in calling for the peaceful mobilizations to go forward in Paris around the UN climate talks. Prohibiting public demonstrations undermines the legitimacy of the negotiations, and reduces the chances that meaningful agreements will be made at a time when our climate crisis needs maximum global attention. It is our hope that the French government will reconsider and allow peaceful mobilizations, and that the civil liberties of all participants will be ensured.

“The safety of Parisians, climate activists who would take part in such actions, and participants in the negotiations of course must be taken seriously in light of the tragic events of this past month, but cancelling all demonstrations severely hampers public participation, sends the wrong message.

“While taking some action on climate, President Obama and other global leaders have yet to take even close to strong enough action to stop the Earth’s climate from reaching the tipping point. We desperately need swift and bold measures if we are to have any chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate chaos. This needs to be done now, and for this to happen the ability of the global community to make their voices heard in Paris needs to be preserved.

“We hope that the French government will reverse its decision, but regardless, Food & Water Europe and our allies will be there, participating in meetings, panel discussions, reaching out to the media, and pressuring our elected leaders to keep fossil fuels in the ground, to ban fracking, and to move beyond dirty energy and towards public policies that require an immediate move to a sustainable energy future, including massive investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.”

Contact: Geert Decock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org

Food & Water Europe Calls on MEPs to Reject Fracking for Shale Gas in Industry Committee Vote on Energy Union

More than 1200 Organizations Around the World Join Call for a Global Ban on Fracking

Brussels – Today, Food & Water Europe is urging Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) – the Industry, Energy and Research committee in particular – to reiterate their opposition to shale gas and other unconventional oil and gas resources due to the negative climate and environmental impacts associated with fracking, when voting on the own-initiative report of MEP Gróbarczyk1. Food & Water Europe hopes that MEPs will recognize the limited potential of shale gas in reducing the EU’s reliance on fossil gas imports. On the eve of the Paris climate summit, the EU needs to show higher ambition for renewables and energy efficiency in order to curb its reliance on coal, oil and fossil gas. This is why Food & Water Europe delivered its ‘2015 Global Frackdown to Paris’ letter2 – calling for a ban on fracking, which was signed by over 1200 groups in 64 countries – to the offices of MEPs. The great success of this letter again demonstrates that the social licence to operate for the fracking industry remains absent. Fighting climate change, while simultaneously allowing exploration for new, unburnable high-carbon resources like shale gas, is inherently contradictory.

“In the year of the critical Paris climate summit and with the impact of climate change becoming more severe by the year, the European Union must send a strong signal to the world that it is committed to keeping fossil fuels in the ground, starting with its own unconventional oil and gas resources”, said Food & Water Europe Director Geert Decock.

More than 1200 groups signed on to the ‘2015 Global Frackdown to Paris’ letter. This letter outlines the main reasons why fracking for unconventional oil and gas cannot be part of any ambitious plans to tackle climate change. First of all, combusting fossil gas instead of e.g. coal releases half the CO2 emissions, but a longer-term reliance on gas will only serve as a bridge fuel to climate chaos. Secondly, more and more peer-reviewed scientific evidence calls into question the low-carbon status of fossil gas due to high levels of ‘fugitive methane’ emissions from its up-, mid- and downstream infrastructure. Last but not least, unconventional oil and gas resources are ‘unburnable carbon’, meaning that their exploitation breaks the world’s remaining and rapidly shrinking carbon budget to stay within the 2 degrees climate target. Instead, the world needs a rapid decarbonisation of its economies, based on ambitious no-regrets policies such as the promotion of energy efficiency and renewables.

Contact: Geert Decock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org

EU fracking ‘Recommendation’ Fails to Protect Citizens

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH EUROPE, FOOD & WATER EUROPE

Brussels, October 8 – EU guidelines on how member states carry out shale gas exploration and production are failing to protect the environment and the health of citizens, a new report has found.

Jointly developed by Friends of the Earth Europe and Food & Water Europe, the report ‘Fracking business (as usual)’ [1] says the European Commission’s Recommendations [2] lack the ability to force member states to even make minimal changes to their shale gas regulations. They also rely too heavily on self-monitoring by the oil and gas industry to control the worst impacts of fracking.

As a result, the report says member states are exploiting the weaknesses of the Recommendations and are failing to take adequate precautionary steps against the potential risks of shale gas, including publishing the chemicals used, safely disposing of fracking waste water, and liability for abandoned oil and gas wells.

Based on the report’s findings, Friends of the Earth Europe and Food & Water Europe have warned that the weak Recommendations are increasing the likelihood of serious threats to communities such as ground water contamination, toxic air pollution, damage to landscapes, and health risks including cancer and birth defects.

Antoine Simon, shale gas campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe said:

“The European Commission and EU Member States lack the political will and ability to strictly regulate the fracking industry. With mounting evidence about the negative impacts of fracking in the US and growing recognition of the long-term risks, we believe that the precautionary principle should be front and centre in decision-making on fracking in Europe. Relying on industry monitoring its own impact is like putting the the fox in charge of the hen house.”

Geert de Cock, Director EU Affairs for Food & Water Europe, said:

“In the year of the critical Paris climate summit and with the impact of climate change becoming more severe by the year, the European Union must send a strong signal to the world that it is committed to keeping fossil fuels in the ground, starting with its own unconventional oil and gas resources.”

Introduced by the European Commission in 2014, the Recommendation asked member states to implement its minimum principles within six months of publication and committed to carry out a review of member states’ actions after 18 months.

Based on analysis of this completed review, together with evidence from EU member states (in particular Poland, the UK, Germany, Spain, Romania and Republic of Ireland), the Fracking business (as usual)’ report has highlighted a number of deep inadequacies in the Recommendation:

Weak and non-binding: The principles outlined in the Recommendation are non-binding, poorly defined, and create legal uncertainty about the relevance of existing EU regulations. They rely primarily on self-regulation by the shale gas industry, allowing operators to decide how best to prevent environmental and health impacts, how best to monitor the installation, and how best to protect the public.

The EU’s scoreboard: Evidence presented in the Commission’s own survey of member state responses (the “scoreboard”) reveals that only four states – Poland, the UK, Lithuania and Germany – have taken legislative or other steps following the introduction of the Recommendation, and that these measures do not fulfil the principles set out in the Recommendation.

Industry defines risks: While member states are encouraged to ensure that potential shale gas sites are fully assessed to identify potential risks, these risks are not clearly identified. Instead, the Recommendation suggests that these will be determined by dialogue between member states and industry.

Inadequate implementation: Risk assessments, monitoring and enforcement are recommended as essential in minimising risk and preventing environmental damage, but evidence suggests that member states often choose to ignore this process. The principles they do introduce are often very industry-friendly, undermining the transparency and legitimacy of the industry. 

Regulatory cost: The non-binding nature of the Recommendation and the reluctance of member states to regulate shale gas exploration and extraction appear, in part, to be due to industry lobbying about the costs of complying with regulation. But analysis by the International Energy Agency suggests that compliance with key environmental mitigation measures would add just 7% to the overall cost of drilling and completing a shale gas well. This appears minor compared to the costs of extraction in Europe, which can be 300% times higher than in the US. 

For more information please contact:

Antoine Simon, Friends of the Earth Europe, antoine.simon@foeeurope, T: +32 2 893 10 18, M: +32 486 685 664

Geert de Cock, Food & Water Europe, [email protected], T: ++2 2 893 10 45, M: +32 484 629 491

Link to the Fracking Business (As Usual) report (http://www.foodandwatereurope.org/reports/fracking-business-as-usual/)

[2] “Recommendations on minimum principles for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons (such as shale gas) using high-volume hydraulic fracturing”