Government LNG decision a retrograde step for climate action and energy bills

Premature decision makes no reference to Department’s latest independent analysis and does not align with the Programme for Government - Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth has strongly criticised today’s Government decision to proceed with a strategic gas reserve through the development of a state-owned floating LNG terminal.

Jerry Mac Evilly Head of Policy in Friends of the Earth said:

“Building a terminal means more use of expensive fossil gas, possibly for decades to come. We have major concerns that this decision may fly in the face of climate obligations and create a new reliance on costly, polluting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and potentially on highly damaging US fracked gas exports.

“This dependence on expensive gas infrastructure, costing hundreds of millions in public money, also means new charges on customers’ bills - and this would come at the very time the Government is talking about removing energy credits and being lambasted for having the highest electricity prices in Europe.”

The Government has also failed to address that the Department recently contracted consultants to look beyond LNG as a back-up option [1]. This analysis must be published and consulted on. More gas is not the same as more security. A comprehensive risk assessment is needed as an LNG facility is not a near-term solution and is at least as vulnerable to accident or attack as the pipelines the Government wants to back-up - nor lose sight of the resulting public safety risks. Last week a group of leading academics also called for further energy security research given climate and energy risks in an open letter to the Taoiseach [2]."

While previous research in 2022 as part of the ongoing Energy Security Review had noted a state-controlled LNG terminal - not a commercial supply terminal - as a preferred option for a gas reserve, in 2024 the Department of energy and climate commissioned further independent analysis on zero-carbon back-up options by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates. This new research was needed because the Department noted developments in renewables, battery storage and interconnection together with the planned reduction in gas demand in the 2030s changed the equation on LNG, particularly given that the analysis by GNI had indicated an LNG terminal would take longer and cost more than originally expected. 

Mr Mac Evilly continued:

While the Programme for Government notes taking necessary action on energy security, commitments in the same document to radically reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and reach climate targets seem to have been dismissed. 

We note that the Minister has stated in media interviews that this is a temporary measure and must be consistent with climate law. However, the Government has not come forward with any legally binding obligations to ensure these conditions are respected and to ensure GNI does not seek to lock-in even higher and long-term polluting gas use.

Notes:

[1] While previous research in 2022 as part of the ongoing Energy Security Review had noted a state-controlled LNG terminal - not a commercial supply terminal - as a preferred option for a gas reserve, in 2024 the Department of energy and climate commissioned further independent analysis on zero-carbon back-up options by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates - https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2025-01-22/88/speech/301/ .This new research was needed because the Department noted developments in renewables, battery storage and interconnection together with the planned reduction in gas demand in the 2030s changed the equation on LNG, particularly given that the analysis by GNI had indicated an LNG terminal would take longer and cost more than originally expected. 

[2] See https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41583031.html