Oppose Shannon LNG For Peace & Climate Justice - No Fracked Gas, No Complicity in Genocide

I am writing to register my unequivocal opposition to the proposed Shannon LNG terminal at Ballylongford, County Kerry. This is not simply an energy infrastructure project - it is a moral, environmental, public health, and geopolitical crisis in the making. Its approval would undermine Ireland’s climate commitments, endanger communities at home and abroad, and tie our national infrastructure to systems of injustice, war, and extraction.

The proposed LNG terminal, operated by New Fortress Energy, would import fracked gas from the U.S., with a minimum of six shipments per year, each carrying 170,000 cubic meters of LNG—equivalent to 5.69 TWh of energy annually or the demand of 1.35 million Irish homes, far exceeding any need for "emergency backup." Rather than serving households or small businesses, the project is driven by the growing demand of data centres, which currently consume 21% of Ireland’s electricity and are projected to reach 30% by 2030. This represents a significant expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, not a minor reserve. This is energy colonialism, disguised as national security.

Ireland is already facing multibillion-euro fines under EU law for failing to meet emissions targets, with projected costs ranging between €8 and €26 billion by 2030. Approving a major new gas import terminal will only deepen this liability and burden Irish taxpayers, while multinational fossil fuel companies profit.

The gas imported through Shannon LNG would be fracked gas—obtained via hydraulic fracturing (ie. fracking) in the United States, primarily in areas such as Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio. These operations are associated with elevated rates of cancer (particularly childhood leukemia), neurological disorders, birth defects, air and groundwater contamination from methane, benzene, and toluene, as well as induced seismic activity (earthquakes). Ireland banned fracking in 2017 with the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Prohibition of Onshore Hydraulic Fracturing) Act, recognizing these dangers. The scientific consensus on fracking’s harms is overwhelming. To import fracked gas is to outsource these harms to working-class and rural, and often marginalised communities in the U.S. It is climate hypocrisy of the highest order.

LNG terminals are long-term investments, with infrastructure lifespans of 30–50 years. Once built, the Shannon terminal would entrench fossil fuel dependence for decades to come, regardless of future emissions targets or renewable alternatives. This directly contradicts Ireland’s legal obligations under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act (2021) and the EU’s Green Deal, and it violates the science-based requirement to phase out fossil gas by 2035 to remain within the 1.5°C global warming threshold.

New Fortress Energy, the U.S. company behind the Shannon LNG terminal, is not just a fossil fuel firm, it is a partner in global militarism. In 2021, New Fortress invested in H2Pro, an Israeli green hydrogen company spun out of Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, a university deeply embedded in the Israeli military-industrial complex. Technion’s labs and researchers are known for developing drone warfare systems, border surveillance technologies, as well as AI systems used in the occupation of Palestine.

In March 2025, H2Pro signed a deal with the state owned Latvian firm 'Latvenergo' to expand into the EU’s green hydrogen market. Every euro earned through Shannon LNG may help fuel this expansion — linking Irish infrastructure to Israeli war technologies at a time when the International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel may be committing acts of genocide in Gaza. This is unacceptable. It violates the moral conscience of the Irish people and contradicts decades of support for Palestinian self-determination.

The Shannon LNG terminal has faced strong, consistent opposition from grassroots groups, including Love Leitrim, Futureproof Clare, Safety Before LNG, Extinction Rebellion Ireland, Future Generations Kerry, Not Here Not Anywhere, Slí Eile, and Gluaiseacht.