Carrying banners studying, “Their fuel, your money” beside photos of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, eight members of Greenpeace Belgium took to the ocean on Thursday to protest the arrival of U.S. and Russian liquefied pure fuel imports into the port of Zeebrugge, as half of a bigger marketing campaign to push the European Union to abandon fossil fuel by 2035.
Greenpeace activists confronted off towards the U.S. Marvel Swallow on board the Greenpeace vessel the Arctic Dawn, in addition to in smaller inflatable boats, according to an announcement. Greenpeace Belgium additional reported on social media that the group additionally confronted a Russian fuel tanker. The campaigners argued that, along with worsening the local weather disaster, counting on methane fuel imports for its vitality places the E.U. on the mercy of overseas strongmen.
“Autocrats like Putin fund their wars with fuel revenues, whereas political bullies like Trump use their dominance as fuel suppliers to strain European international locations economically and politically,” Greenpeace Belgium spokesperson Joeri Thijs stated from the Arctic Dawn. “In the meantime, households and communities battle with hovering vitality payments and excessive climate fueled by fossil fuel. This dependence leaves us all susceptible. Power sovereignty via renewables is not simply an environmental necessity, it’s a matter of safety.”
We’re in motion RIGHT NOW.
The Arctic Dawn is at present confronting each a Russian and an American fuel tanker set to Zeebrugge with fossil fuel.
We’re right here to say: our vitality invoice HAS TO STOP fueling Trump’s US nor Putin’s Russia.
#StopFossilGas
#TheirGasYourCash— Greenpeace Belgium (@greenpeace.be) March 27, 2025 at 7:35 AM
The protest comes roughly two months after Trump declared an vitality emergency within the U.S. in a bid to extend fossil gas manufacturing. Whereas the U.S. emerged because the world’s largest LNG exporter beneath former President Joe Biden, the Biden administration additionally paused approvals of recent LNG exports whereas it carried out a examine into their impacts. The outcomes of that examine, launched in December, confirmed the warnings of local weather advocates that sending LNG overseas would exacerbate the local weather disaster and the native air pollution burden of frontline communities whereas elevating home vitality costs.
After taking workplace, nevertheless, Trump promptly reversed the Biden pause, and, earlier this month, conditionally approved exports from Enterprise International’s controversial Calcasieu Cross 2 terminal in coastal Louisiana. There at the moment are indicators that European leaders may cave to Trump’s want to export extra U.S. fossil fuel in an try and keep away from tariffs. The U.S. is already the main fossil fuel importer to the E.U., at 45% in 2024.
In terms of Russian fuel, the E.U. has had sanctions in place towards Russia because it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and launched a ban on the transshipment of Russian LNG at E.U. ports on Wednesday. But, the bloc has had a tough time weaning itself off of Russian fuel — imports rose by 18% throughout 2024 as Russia turned the its second-leading supply of methane fuel imports. The E.U. additionally spent extra on Russian oil and fuel than it delivered in assist to Ukraine.
“The E.U.’s dependence on fossil gas imports, with all the issues that brings, can’t be damaged and not using a wholesale transfer to renewable vitality and a transparent dedication to part out all fossil fuels, together with fossil fuel,” Thomas Gelin, vitality and local weather campaigner at Greenpeace E.U., stated in an announcement. “Step one have to be a right away ban on all new fossil gas tasks within the E.U.; it’s mindless to arrange for extra fossil fuels than we want. No new pipelines, no new fuel terminals, no half-measures: a ban on all new fossil gas tasks, pure and easy.”
The E.U. has succeeded in curbing its fuel demand by 20% between 2021 and 2024, and total imports fell by 19% final yr. Greenpeace is looking on the bloc to construct on that success with a ban on all new fossil gas tasks, a ban on investments in fossil fuels, and a phaseout of fossil fuel by 2035. An open letter to member international locations making these calls for has been signed by over 81,000 individuals.
“Europe’s overreliance on fossil fuel results in rising vitality payments, illness, deaths, destruction of nature, and local weather chaos,” the letter reads. “Fossil fuel is a grimy, lethal fossil gas like oil and coal. Because of this the European Union and its member states should act now and #StopFossilGas and all different fossil gas tasks earlier than it’s too late.”
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