Over 45 Irish and North American-based organisations, health professionals, advocates and individuals have called on Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan to include a risk assessment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as part of his energy security review.
Last month, the minister told the Dáil he was finalising its review of security of energy supply in relation to Ireland’s electricity and natural gas systems.
He said the review was “focused on the period to 2030, but in the context of ensuring a sustainable transition to a net zero economy by 2050”.
Ryan recently highlighted the key role of ports and offshore renewable energy (ORE) developers when he called for an acceleration of “ the important mission of delivering offshore wind energy in Ireland over the coming decade at a scale and scope that we perhaps haven’t seen since the electrification of the country”.
The letter calling for a risk assessment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) was given to Ryan before his speech at the Mary Robinson climate conference in Ballina last Friday.
Signatories include actor and advocate Mark Ruffalo, Irish Doctors for the Environment, Physicians for Social Responsibility in New York and Pennsylvania, Friends of the Earth, Comhlámh and others in Ireland and North America.
The groups fear Ryan has changed his position on stopping LNG import terminals, as well as lifting the moratorium on imports to Ireland of fracked gas. The groups say that while he has clarified his position against commercial LNG, there has been “no commitment to reject it as part of the energy security review”.
“One of the main reasons cited in the reversal to consider LNG in the review is that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was attacked, along with a suggestion that Ireland’s gas pipelines could be targeted by terrorists,”the groups state.
“While highly dubious rationales in themselves, these explanations ignore the fact that LNG terminals and infrastructure would be at least as susceptible to attack by terrorists and foreign actors, posing tremendous impacts on people and the environment,” they state.
The letter is available here