KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – A German environmental organization has launched a petition asking Germany to withdraw from a loan guarantee process that would provide more than $4 billion US to the Goldboro LNG project in Guysborough County.
The petition is getting a lot of signatures very quickly, even though the German involvement in the Nova Scotia project isn’t receiving a whole lot of media coverage there.
The German government is committing to the loan to Pieridae Energy Limited, the Calgary company behind the Goldboro project, in return for a guarantee that Germany will receive a part of the exported liquid natural gas (LNG).
That doesn’t sit well with members of Gastivists Berlin, the organization behind the petition.
“New gas infrastructure delays the switch to 100% renewable energies in Germany and abroad. Publicly funded investments in natural gas are at the expense of renewables and block the way to the energy transition, which must be implemented immediately. Investments should be made exclusively in renewable energy,” the petition states.
As well, LNG will mostly be obtained through fracking, which carries unacceptable risks to groundwater and the overall environment. Fracking was made illegal in Germany for a reason, and that ban should not be undermined by importing fracked gas from elsewhere, the petitioners argue.
The petition also refers to the risky nature of the investment. Ken Summers, has reported in depth on these same issues for the Nova Scotia Advocate.
“We are really pleased about the response of our petition cause we never expected so many people to sign,” writes one of the members of Gastivists Berlin, the organization that initiated the petition. At the time of writing the petition is very close to meeting its target of 15,000 signatures.
Canadian endorsers of the petition include the Ecology Action Centre, the COuncil of Canadians, and NOFRAC. The list of German endorsers is equally impressive.
German organizers say Nova Scotians are welcome to sign on. However, the clock is ticking, since delivery to the German government is planned for later today (November 5).
“To the Nova Scotians who do not like Fracking: Keep up the fight! We are doing our best on the other side of the Atlantic to prevent the pollution of your waters and of our common climate,” Gastivists Berlin activists told the Nova Scotia Advocate.
See also:
- News release: Canadian and German groups call on Germany not to finance fracking in Canada
- Goldboro LNG – Not a good idea, and not just because of climate change
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