Greenpeace Belgium activists occupied Fluxys’ gas terminal in Zeebrugge on Saturday morning to protest the construction of new gas infrastructure.
Ten climbers and 12 kayakers from the NGO entered the Fluxys site, with the permission of the operator and under the watchful eye of the police, to demand the abandonment of new gas infrastructure and a European gas exit by 2035.
“We are here today to demand that Zeebrugge and our authorities abandon new gas projects and get out of gas for good by 2035,” said Mathieu Soete, energy expert at Greenpeace Belgium.
The activists climbed onto the loading docks of ships carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) where they unfurled a banner on top of a pylon displaying the message “Gas kills, Zeebrugge guilty”. Meanwhile, kayakers held up posters reading “Fluxys: get out of gas."
According to the environmental organisation, five people were arrested in the action.
Credit: Belga/ Nicolas MaeterlinckGreenpeace argued that both the US and European gas industries have "succeeded in presenting LNG imports as the main answer to the shutdown of Russian pipelines," adding that, European imports of US LNG have as a result increased by 140% in 2022 and that, under pressure from companies like Fluxys, numerous gas projects and terminals are being built here and across the Atlantic.
Kayakers in the Zeebrugge harbour. Credit: Belga/ Nicolas Maeterlinck
"Currently, eight LNG terminals are under construction in the EU, and plans to build 38 more are under consideration. If all these terminals are built, they would be responsible for the emission of 950 million tons of CO2 per year," Greenpeace stressed.
"This threatens whole communities and has disastrous environmental and climate consequences."
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Greenpeace has launched a petition asking Belgian and EU political leaders for an action plan for a gradual gas exit by 2035, with support for the most vulnerable households.
"Our political leaders must do everything possible for an energy transition that is fair and based on demand management and renewable energies,” Soete concluded.
In a reaction, operator Fluxys said it fully understood the climate concerns of the demonstrators and was fully committed to building a completely carbon-neutral energy system by 2050.
At the same time, the operator of the Zeebrugge gas terminal stressed the importance of the safety of its employees, installations and other stakeholders, as well as its operational activities, including in the context of security of supply.
