Any move to appease US president Donald Trump by importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US on the grounds of improving Ireland’s energy security “would be wrong and damaging”, according to the environmental group Friends of the Earth.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said in an interview at the weekend that actions to improve Ireland’s energy security were needed but did not refer to the possibility of importing LNG from the US.
Friends of the Earth said this had prompted media and political commentary suggesting Ireland was on a path to accept US LNG – “in particular to deal with a potentially challenging relationship with the new Trump administration”.
Based on the programme for Government, “it’s not the case the Government has decided to proceed with LNG and [it] is very clear on the need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels”, said Jerry MacEvilly, head of policy with the environmental NGO.
Here’s why Ireland is on Donald Trump’s tariffs hit list
Will ‘steely, unflinching’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt be chewed up like her predecessors?
How Ireland’s new attacking plan has fuelled their perfect Six Nations start
‘Keep going as long as you are allowed to’: One of Ireland’s longest serving employees moves on after more than 67 years
“Narratives about developing a long-term dependency on highly polluting and expensive US LNG are both wrong and damaging,” he added in a statement.
“The idea that the programme for Government amounts to an acceptance of an LNG terminal is ridiculous. [It] raises the importance of energy security, which covers demand reduction, electricity, gas and other forms of energy, but does not make any reference to supporting development of any LNG terminal – and actually moves away from a limited focus on gas infrastructure,” he said.
If anything, the new programme for Government is less supportive of LNG than the outgoing government, which had already ruled out commercial LNG as a gas backup option, he said.
It is clearer than before on the need to reduce reliance on fossil fuels radically and to harness renewables potential, Mr MacEvilly said.
Such commitments were a clear mandate to departments and State bodies to follow through with clear actions at the scale and speed required to fulfil Ireland’s climate objectives, he said.
“Recent media reports have also missed the fact that the Government is now looking beyond LNG as a backup option for existing gas pipelines. As part of the ongoing energy security review, the Department of Energy and Climate has commissioned further independent analysis on zero-carbon backup options.
“This is because they note that developments in renewables, battery storage and interconnection together with the planned reduction in gas demand in the 2030s may well make LNG infrastructure an expensive white elephant,” Mr MacEvilly said.
Friends of the Earth expect the Government to hold a public consultation on findings from this research by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates, before taking any final decisions.
The Government should introduce a permanent ban on LNG import terminals of any kind “as dependency on fracked gas imports and LNG does not have any place in the transition to a fossil-free future which the State is committed to and risks undermining Ireland’s energy security”, Mr MacEvilly said.
