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EU’s Fracking Hypocrisy

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How LNG is still an accepted back door for fracked gas in Europe

With climate chaos looming and millions on the streets to support the youth climate strikes, it’s time to have a closer look at the hypocrisy of the European Union regarding fracking. A new Food & Water Watch report – The Fracking End Game: Locked Into Plastics, Pollution and Climate Chaos – casts a profound look at the United States’ current fracking and LNG export boom. This blog shows how the EU’s LNG import plans fit perfectly with the U.S.’ dirty plans.

A number of EU Member States have legislative or de facto bans on fracking in place, yet at the same time, imports of fracked US gas are on the rise: Between a meeting of U.S. President Trump and EU Commission President Juncker in July 2018 and spring of this year, exports of American fossil gas have increased by over 270%. In March 2019 alone, over 1.4 billion cubic meters of U.S. LNG reached Europe. While these volumes are still an insignificant fraction of EU gas consumption, decision makers’ endorsement of this steadily growing, extremely harmful source of gas is highly problematic.

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ExxonMobil Comes To Brussels

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Food

By Eilidh Robb

Update, March 19 : ExxonMobil, despite happily using lobbying opportunities in the European Parliament and other EU institutions, has refused parliamentarians’ invitation to speak at the hearing. This is unacceptable. Parliament must act to hold Exxon accountable. At the hearing, we will be asking them to revoke their lobbying access entirely, just as they did with Monsanto in 2017.

In the same way that we look back on the tobacco industry’s remarkable PR stunts and wonder how they got away with it, we will look back on the activities of ExxonMobil and ask ourselves the same question.

For the past 50 years ExxonMobil has been sitting on some pretty important findings about the certainty of human-induced climate change – findings that they conveniently hid from the world by launching a $33 billion campaign to sow doubt and denial about global warming, which allowed them to justify continued pollution.

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Zurich Citizens’ Vote for Public Water

By David Sánchez

Learn more about stopping water privatization in Zurich.To a certain extent, attempts to privatise water have started looking like an anachronism in Europe. From Madrid and Thessalonoki to Berlin and Italy, every time citizens have been asked, they have massively supported public water management. If we have learned a lesson after years of imposed austerity, it is that water privatization can only have a chance when it is imposed against citizens’ will, as we are still witnessing in Greece. With a trend to remunicipalise water services around the world, some of the main examples are happening in European cities like Terrassa and Valladolid in Spain; Montpellier in France; Mafra in Portugal; and Torino in Italy.

The last ones to reject privatization plans are the citizens of Zurich, Switzerland. Last Sunday, voters rejected (by more than 50 percent) the plans of the cantonal government to allow the partial privatization of water utilities and to give private land owners a greater say in river and lakeshore use.

Rejecting recommendations by the main centre-right parties and big business, a campaign lead by left wing parties, unions and environmental groups managed to raise awareness about water commodification and against the privatization of nature.

Saying no is not enough

The morning after the referendum, an initiative was introduced in the parliament of the Canton of Zurich to guarantee public ownership over water and take initiatives to promote the human right to water. It’s a great example of how we can move from resistance into proactive campaigns to secure a model of public water management that promotes social justice.

If you read German, you can get more information about the situation in Zurich in the website of the campaign and in the press release from the trade unions.

Over 67,000 Signatures Against Proposed Fracked Gas LNG Terminals in Germany

by Andy Gheorghiu

“Gassy” Germany Beats “Green” Germany

Action in Berlin. (Photo by Uwe Hiksch)

Despite its “green” image, Germany remains the biggest gas consumer in Europe. Using almost 92 billion cubic metres (bcm) of fossil gas in 2017, gas accounted for 24 percent in Germany’s primary energy consumption. And the so-called “Climate Chancellor”, Angela Merkel, recently announced in Davos that the targeted coal phase-out will further increase Germany’s need for gas.

Because of its comprehensive cross-border pipeline infrastructure and its central location, Germany has become the main gas transit hub in Europe, with significant amounts of gas from Russia and Norway transiting the country for delivery to other markets: With a gas import capacity of 54 bcm per year from Norway (via three pipelines), 208 bcm per year from Russia (via 3 pipelines: North Stream 1, Yamal and the Ukraine pipeline system), and some 25 bcm per year from the Netherlands (via four main pipelines and interconnection points), and gas storage capacities of 24.6 bcm (via 51 gas storage facilities), Germany can import and store more than three times more gas than it consumes. According to the German Economy Ministry, Germany’s gas storage facilities are the fourth largest in the world and the largest in Europe.

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Meet Our New Intern!

Categories

Food

By Eilidh Robb

Hi I’m Eilidh, the latest campaigns intern at Food & Water Europe in Belgium.

I’m originally from Scotland, where I have spent most of my life, and where I completed my undergraduate degree in Geography and my master’s degree in Global Environmental Law and Governance. This academic background helped shape my experience in the environmental world, but it wasn’t until I started campaigning that I really began to understand the extent of the fight on climate change. By campaigning with the UK Youth Climate Coalition (UKYCC), a group of youth volunteers across the UK, I’ve contributed to national, international, and global campaigns, allowing me to gain invaluable insight into the complexities of activism and lobbying. Through this work I have campaigned against fracking in the UK and the gas supply chain internationally, and I’ve contributed to work highlighting the vested interests of fossil fuel companies while attending the UNFCCC Climate Change negotiations in 2017 and 2018. My role as Communications Coordinator has also taught me useful leadership lessons and has allowed me to better navigate the chaos of social media – a skill I hope to bring to Food & Water Europe.

Similarly, in October 2018 I attended Campaign Bootcamp, a residential week of training for campaigners across the UK which sought to break down structural oppressions and build up effective and passionate campaigners. This experience challenged my approach to campaigning (for the better) and I can’t wait to put what I learned into practice. Through all this work I have met many so many inspiring environmentalists and activists, and I feel very privileged to get the chance to work with more here at Food & Water Europe. I cannot wait to see what the next six months bring and am particularly excited to campaign against gas at the European level.

10 facts about gas that you might not know yet

When is gas not a gas? When it threatens our health and all we hold dear and need to simply live and thrive.

The COP24 climate talks in Poland are focusing on greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuels and they still don’t get how bad gas is.

Food & Water Europe has been working to stop fracking and gas infrastructure for years. Together with the Gastivsts, we are getting out the truth out about gas and the dangers it and the industry pose. We hope you will spread the word, too.

Get all 10 facts and sharable images to truth-tell about the dangers of gas.

Gas is dangerous for the climate

Gas is a fossil fuel and a potent greenhouse gas. When we burn gas, considerable amounts of CO2 are emitted, just like coal and oil. On top of that, gas fuels climate change by emitting methane, a greenhouse gas that directly leaks out in the atmosphere at every point in the supply chain!

Gas and the Paris Agreement? Incompatible

Gas is a dirty fossil fuel, similarly bad for our climate as coal. We do not have time for wrong solutions or alleged “bridge fuels” that do not reduce our emissions. Gas will slow down the energy transformation that we need.

Gas is a social justice issue

Our consumption of fossil gas prolongs the unjust fossil fuel model and cements a neocolonial, neoliberal and capitalistic system. From Azerbaijan to Algeria, local people must bear the burden and risks of fossil gas extraction, but do not reap any benefits. A few elites and companies profit from the gas, which only leads to growing inequality.

Gas will not benefit workers

The gas and fracking industry often creates much less local and full time jobs than expected. Employment in the field is often temporary and high skill jobs are filled with foreign experts. Gas will lock us into an unjust and unsustainable fossil fuel system – we need to democratise our energy system and improve workers rights.

CAUTION : Gas can damage your health

Fracking in particular can have serious impacts on affected communities health: respiratory diseases, rashes, nosebleeds, reduced birth weight, impacts on mental health and illnesses linked to often carcinogenic fracking chemicals. Communities must bear these risks, while the fossil fuel industry makes a profit.

No room for gas in our energy transition

The fossil fuel industry tells us to replace coal by gas. But the energy transition we fight for is a transition towards a democratic energy system where local communities decide and manage their own clean energy. Gas is not clean and will still be managed by multinational corporations, it is a false solution!

Gas is coal’s best friend

The anti-coal movement has been leading a fierce fight from the Philippines to Germany! As they win, the fossil fuel companies think they can replace coal by gas to keep their business going as usual. But we will directly lead a transition to clean energy and to community-owned energy systems!

Gas companies do not respect human rights

The companies extracting gas and building gas infrastructure, such as Bonatti, Shell, TransCanada and ExxonMobil, are involved in human right violations, corruption cases, indigenous right abuses. We will not let them remain unaccountable.

Gas activists are criminalised and threatened

From the UK to Mexico, from Argentina to Italy, local people that are fighting the imposition of gas projects are being increasingly criminalised and threatened. As they try and exercise their right to their land or to protest, they are being framed as an enemy of the state and face increasing repression. We stand in solidarity with all of them.

Gas extraction causes earthquakes

Gas extraction has been proved to create earthquakes damaging people’s home, physical safety and mental health. In the Netherlands, over 100,000 homes have been damaged by the extraction of gas in Groningen. People are not able to sell their house and move, they must remain in unsafe homes.