Greenpeace Activists Mount Peaceful Protest at Greek LNG Facility

• The plant is located in a protected marine area in the Aegean Sea.
• The protest calls for a ban on new fossil fuel infrastructure projects.
• Underwater distribution pipelines supply gas to Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, and Ukraine.

Greenpeace activists recently staged a peaceful protest by climbing onto the Alexandroupolis Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), located in the Aegean Sea, with banners reading "Stop Fossil Gas".

The three-hour protest was aimed at drawing attention to the wasteful and unnecessary investments in fossil fuel projects in the country.

According to Greenpeace, their motive was not to disrupt the plant's operations but to raise public awareness about the climate risks of using fossil gas.

They urged the Greek government to ban all new fossil fuel gas projects and phase out fossil gas completely by 2035, saying the move was necessary to put a chokehold on global warming and protect the country's natural resources.

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Costas Kaloudis, Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace's Greek office, said: "The peaceful action of our office activists sent the message that fossil gas, whether in liquid or gaseous form, is the same dirty fuel, and should have no place in our lives.

"It destroys our climate, health, environment and economy. The government must immediately reconsider its stance on building new gas plants in the country."

The Alexandroupolis FSRU is a new LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) terminal located in the Aegean Sea, near Alexandroupolis, Greece. Greenpeace views this as a destructive project because it is situated in a marine protected area, is funded with public money, and emits a significant amount of methane, a greenhouse gas more harmful than carbon dioxide.

Another major climate concern is the threat it poses to marine life, including fish, as the plant’s operation involves sucking in large amounts of seawater, killing sea organisms and damaging their habitats.

So, Greenpeace and other environmental groups have taken legal action by appealing to Greece's top administrative court, the Council of State, to terminate the facility's permits owing to its environmental impact.

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The protest is also part of Greenpeace’s Fossil Free Future campaign across Europe, where its ship, the Arctic Sunrise, is cruising across the continent to spread awareness about fossil fuel dependence and promote the importance of a fair transition to renewable energy sources.

The ship has visited many countries so far, including Belgium, Italy, and Croatia, before anchoring in Crete, Greece. As part of the campaign, a petition is also running, which has received over 83,000 signatures, calling for a ban on new fossil fuel infrastructure in the EU.

The Gastrade-owned Alexandroupolis FSRU project involves the import and distribution of LNG, as well as underwater and land pipelines to supply gas to Greece and neighbouring countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine.

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Source: euro news