Climate Rules Before Gas Storage!

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Take our e-action calling on the Government to enact strict climate rules to prevent polluting gas projects like Shannon LNG! Now is the time to ensure that strict climate conditions are enshrined permanently in regulation or law, not just policy.

The Government is currently considering options for an emergency gas reserve, particularly the proposal to develop a floating Liquefied Natural Gas terminal. We don’t believe this is the right way to establish this reserve as it poses considerable risks to Ireland’s climate objectives.

While the Government has already committed to ensuring that climate 'guardrails’ or conditions are in place before any decision on an emergency gas reserve is made, no steps have yet been taken to enact these conditions on a clear and lasting basis. It’s important these rules are in place to avoid locking-in Ireland to fossil fuel use, as well as to stay within the legally-binding carbon emissions limits set by the Dáil on a cross-party basis.

Without these rules in place, there is a real risk a future Government will quietly drop the climate conditions altogether and allow fossil fuel companies like the one behind the Shannon LNG project to flood Ireland with more gas, blowing our pollution limits out of the water. The fossil fuel free-for-all must end!

The fossil fuel industry would rather wield its grip on policy-making and increase the demand and use of gas. Will you act now to ensure our health and safety are the priority of the Government and not the interests of the fossil fuel industry?

Read more about our work on LNG here.

Taoiseach Simon Harris (FG)

Tánaiste Micheál Martin (FF)

Minister Eamon Ryan (GP)

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Dear (each target will get a separate, personalised email),

As a supporter of Friends of the Earth, I am very concerned by the risk to Ireland’s climate objectives posed by the "Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve" proposed as part of the Government's Energy Security Review Package announced last November 2023. I am calling on you to enact the strict climate-related conditions agreed by Government and detailed in the Energy Security Package as soon as possible and before any final decision on a gas reserve.

The Government’s current preferred option of a floating LNG terminal (FSRU) is not the right way to establish an emergency reserve. Any LNG import facility, even state-controlled, may tempt future governments to delay moving away from gas, which is crucial for preventing climate chaos and risk locking in polluting gas. We are concerned that Government statements on the risk to our gas interconnectors to Scotland and the benefits of floating LNG as a backup are, at best, outdated. The Government must fully consider that any new gas infrastructure would only come onstream in the 2030s when Ireland’s energy system will benefit from a combination of new clean renewables, battery storage and interconnection.

Massive risks are also associated with an FSRU, including its own vulnerability to accident or attack and the resulting public safety risks, not to mention our overdependence on expensive gas. We have major concerns regarding the limited analysis currently being undertaken by Gas Networks Ireland and are calling for a full independent assessment of all potential options that includes the comparative safety, national security, and climate risks.

As a Friends of the Earth supporter, I was pleased that planning permission for the Shannon LNG development was rejected thanks to the Government's 2021 Policy Statement.

The Government’s Energy Security Review Package is clear that the best way to support energy security and climate commitments is to support a renewables-led, not fossil fuel-led, energy system and prioritize reductions in gas demand. The Government also made significant commitments that any gas reserve would be subject to strict climate-related conditions

These conditions include:
- Use in emergencies only, in the event of gas supply disruptions.
- A non-commercial operation to prevent increased gas demand.
- A time-bound transition to renewable energy.
- Compliance with climate obligations, including future decommissioning plans.
- State-led as part of a regulatory framework.
- Continued moratorium on fracked gas imports.

However, to date, steps have yet to be taken to enact these conditions on a clear and lasting basis. These rules must be made binding through legislation or regulation by the CRU before any decision on an emergency gas reserve.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely
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Categorised in:: Energy
Tagged with:: Gas No New Gas

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Climate Rules Before Gas Storage!

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