The 16-km-long island of Schiermonnikoog is known as one of the most beautiful places in the Netherlands, boasting the widest beach in Europe, 300 different species of birds, and bustling tourist trade.
But after CNN Business reported last week that the Dutch and German governments approved the development of a new gas field roughly 20km from Schiermonnikoog’s shores, the island's mayor is anxious about its future.
"We are very concerned that the gas drilling will damage the area," Mayor Ineke van Gent told CNN Business.
"We also believe that there is no need to drill for new gas at all and that we should invest much more in renewable energy."
Spanning across the German and Dutch North Sea Territories, the gas project is just one of several that got the go-ahead or is under review by European and British decision-makers after Russia invaded Ukraine, and as Europe desperately tries to secure gas supplies.
Last week, EU leaders set a voluntary target to reduce gas usage by 15% through March 2023 to avoid a shortage crisis once the weather turns. Europe’s primary source of energy is gas, mainly from Russia. An energy supply squeeze could push prices even higher, sparking a wave of blackouts and leaving vulnerable households unable to pay their bills.
Yet scientists, activists and locals in places like Schiermonnikoog are frustrated as they believe that governments are using the war in Ukraine as political cover for projects that won’t go live in time to help this winter, which could ultimately make it harder to get a handle on climate change.
CNN Business reported that the gas field near Schiermonnikoog will only begin delivering gas to Dutch and German households in 2024 and once turned on, it could be operating for decades, with licences currently valid until 2042.
Han Dolman, director of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, a staunch opponent of the project, told CNN Business that “in principle, we need to get rid of all the fossil fuels, and we need to get rid of them very fast. It’s not an immediate solution to anything related to the Russian gas crisis.”
Europe’s scramble to secure gas supplies comes as Russia signals its willingness to punish the bloc for its support of Ukraine. State-owned Gazprom recently slashed flows through the crucial Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20% of daily capacity.
The situation in Europe is “perilous” and the region must prepare for a “long, hard winter” according to Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency. Even if European countries manage to fill their gas stores to 90% of their capacity, the region is still likely to face supply disruptions early next year if Russia decides to cut off gas deliveries from October, the IEA said. This risk has forced countries to seek alternate sources of fuel and implement strict measures to conserve what they already have.
CNN reported that Denmark, which in 2020 announced plans to phase out fossil fuel production, is boosting extraction from North Sea fields that already have licences. Hungary has said it will hike domestic natural gas production to 2 billion cubic metres from 1.5 billion cubic metres.
Shell is proceeding with a new natural gas development in the North Sea after the UK government gave the go-ahead in June, reversing a previous decision to block the project on environmental grounds.
Current Affairs