The largest LNG terminal in Europe is to be built in the port of Mukran on the Eastern German island of Rügen. The construction is to start already in summer 2023: A huge mobile terminal (called FSRU: “Floating Storage and Regasification Unit”) is to receive, convert and store fossil gas arriving on ships from all over the world. From there, the gas will be pumped through newly constructed pipelines at the bottom of the Greifswalder Bodden ecosystem to the mainland and fed into the gas grid. In the midst of the climate crisis, fossil fuel infrastructure is being further expanded, for which human rights violations during gas extraction and the destruction of nature in Baltic Sea protected areas are being accepted.

And what is the point of all this? The gas lobby and the Germany Ministry of Economic Affairs claim that Germany urgently need this gas to ensure security of energy supply. However, analyses, including those by the NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V., show that this is not true: There is no need! If the plans of the German government to build twelve LNG terminals are implemented, massive overcapacities will be created and renewable energies will be blocked! The argument of an alleged gas shortage serves the gas industry, which expects massive profits – for example through long-term supply contracts with dubious business partners like Qatar. In this way, the German government is creating facts on the ground: importing LNG means massively fueling the climate crisis!

LNG is not only unnecessary, but a real danger to the climate: there are methane leaks during the production, transport and processing of LNG; methane is a greenhouse gas 80 times more harmful than CO2. With such additional emissions Germany will not reach its climate targets, which are inadequate anyway!

And that’s not the only problem: Around the globe, the ground is being fracked to obtain liquefied gas. Fracking is an extremely environmentally damaging method which causes devastating economic, health and social consequences in the extraction regions. Chemicals leak into the groundwater, environmentalists from indigenous communities who stand in the way of the industry are persecuted and murdered. Their land is poisoned and exploited to maximize the profits of fossil fuel companies. All apparently deemed acceptable for the profit of German corporations.

In addition, high demand from Europe is causing gas prices to skyrocket, resulting in power outages in countries of the Global South. In short, fossil energy is inextricably linked to neocolonialism. LNG is no exception!

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says we have less than three years to turn the tide. So: let’s prevent the construction of the Rügen LNG terminal before the gas infrastructure is built! We demand a radical turnaround in heating: We will only have affordable and just energy if the energy is renewable and we have control over its production and distribution without corporations and capitalism.

So put a trip to Rügen on 22-24 September 2023 in your calendars and stay tuned for updates!