Not Here Not Anywhere
1,000 signatures reached
To: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
Keep Ireland LNG Free - Support a legislative ban of climate-wrecking LNG terminals
Please pass legislation to ban the construction of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.
Why is this important?
Keep Ireland LNG Free Petition
Renewable energy is the future and Ireland has taken major steps towards a cleaner, greener future by banning fracking and new offshore drilling licences for fossil fuels. As thousands of communities around the world, scientists and our own government agree, it doesn’t make sense to support major new oil and gas infrastructure which could lock us into fossil energy for 30 - 40 years and damage our ability to fulfil our climate action commitments.
But right now, ignoring public sentiment and government resolve [1], fossil fuel companies are planning to build multiple Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals, a particularly climate-damaging fossil fuel, on the Irish coast, including in Kerry [2], Cork, Mayo and Louth [3].
These companies will continue to seek ways to side step and undermine our national efforts for a fossil free future [4]. We need to stop them once and for all by passing legislation against LNG infrastructure, the new LNG Free Bill.
When we take action together, we take leaps towards a healthy planet. Working in solidarity achieved a nationwide ban on offshore drilling - let's do it again and Keep Ireland LNG free!
What is LNG and why is it so dangerous?
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is fossil gas which has been turned into a liquid to be transported around the world on tankers. At every stage of its production it leaks methane, making it hugely climate-damaging [5]. On a full life-cycle basis, it is as devastating for the climate as coal or oil [6].
LNG is often obtained by fracking, which we banned in Ireland because of its appalling environmental and health impacts - including birth defects, respiratory disease and increased cancer rates in local communities [7]. However, if LNG infrastructure was developed in Ireland, we would be unable to control whether gas arriving in Ireland is fracked or not. LNG terminals could also cause significant health impacts and even risk to life for Irish communities due to air pollution and potential gas leaks and explosions [8].
Increasing our nation’s reliance on LNG fossil fuel energy will further expose us to energy insecurity and price rises, deepening the cost of living crisis. The most secure source of energy for the future is indigenous renewables supported by storage [9]. Renewables are already cheaper than fossil fuels [10] and LNG would threaten investment in renewables by flooding the market with dirty energy [11].
Take action - Keep Ireland LNG Free!
Sign the petition to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar asking him to pass the LNG Free Bill.
Head to www.lngfree.ie for more information and actions!
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[1] https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/dbe48-policy-statement-on-the-importation-of-fracked-gas-published/
[2] https://secureservercdn.net/166.62.108.229/ejr.4eb.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CHPNY-PSR-Fracking-Science-Compendium-7_20210219.pdf
[3] https://www.businesspost.ie/energy/new-firms-lng-plans-would-make-ireland-major-exporter-of-gas-95728294
[4] https://www.businesspost.ie/energy/shannon-lng-terminal-can-go-ahead-if-planning-is-granted-varadkar-says-503e39b8
[5] https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/files/60994617/Natural_Gas_and_Climate_Change_Anderson_Broderick_FOR_DISTRIBUTION.pdf
[6] http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/howarth/publications/f_EECT-61539-perspectives-on-air-emissions-of-methane-and-climatic-warmin_100815_27470.pdf
[7] https://secureservercdn.net/166.62.108.229/ejr.4eb.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CHPNY-PSR-Fracking-Science-Compendium-7_20210219.pdf
[8] https://www.ran.org/wp-content/uploads/rainforestactionnetwork/pages/17026/attachments/original/1478634931/LNG_Report_Updated_11.7.pdf?1478634931
[9] https://www.stopclimatechaos.ie/assets/files/pdf/is_natural_gas_essential_for_irelands_future_energy_security_scc_study_november_2018.pdf
[10] https://rmi.org/insight/clean-energy-portfolios-pipelines-and-plants/
[11] https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014ERL.....9i4008S/abstract