Ireland’s climate and energy security must not be sacrificed to appease Trump

Government must not lock Ireland into long term gas addiction in short term effort to distract Trump

Friends of the Earth has questioned the media reporting of remarks by Taoiseach Micheál Martin regarding energy security and the possible importing of LNG fossil gas from the US. While the Taoiseach noted in an interview with the Irish Examiner on 8th February [1] that actions to improve energy security are needed it’s not the case the Government has decided to proceed with LNG and the Programme for Government is very clear on the need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Certain media and political commentary has suggested that Ireland is now on a path to accept US LNG, in particular to deal with a potentially challenging relationship with the new Trump administration.

In response to such reports, Jerry Mac Evilly Head of Policy in Friends of the Earth has said:

“Narratives about developing a long-term dependency on highly polluting and expensive US Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) are both wrong and damaging.

“Firstly, the idea that the Programme for Government amounts to an acceptance of an LNG terminal is ridiculous. The Programme raises the importance of energy security, which covers demand reduction, electricity, gas, and other forms of energy, but does not make any reference to supporting the development of any LNG terminal and actually moves away from a limited focus on gas infrastructure.

“If anything the new Programme for Government is less supportive of LNG than the outgoing Government, which had already ruled out commercial LNG as a gas back-up option. The new Programme is clearer than before on the need to radically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and to harness renewables potential. Such commitments are a clear mandate to Departments and state bodies to follow through with clear actions at the scale and speed required to fulfil our climate objectives.”

“Recent media reports have also missed the fact that the Government is now looking beyond LNG as a back-up option for existing gas pipelines. As part of the ongoing Energy Security Review, the Department of energy and climate has commissioned further independent analysis on zero-carbon back options [2]. This is because they note that developments in renewables, battery storage and interconnection together with the planned reduction in gas demand in the 2030s may well make LNG infrastructure an expensive white elephant.

“We expect the Government to hold a public consultation on the findings of the research now being undertaken by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA), just as they did at an earlier stage of the Energy Security Review in autumn 2022, before making any final decisions.

“In our view, the Government should introduce a permanent ban on LNG import terminals of any kind as dependency on fracked gas imports and LNG does not have any place in the transition to a fossil free future which the state is committed to and risks undermining Ireland’s energy security.”

ENDS

Notes:

[1] https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41570407.html

[2] https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2025-01-22/88/speech/301/