The EU and US must not exploit the Ukraine crisis to fast-track further fossil fuel development on both sides of the Atlantic, according to Friends of the Earth Europe and Friends of the Earth US. The call comes as the US Secretary of State John Kerry and the EU High Commissioner Catherine Ashton met today for an emergency EU-US energy council, just two days after the latest UN climate report warned of climate-change-related risks from extreme events, such as heat waves, extreme precipitation, and coastal flooding.
The ongoing crisis in Ukraine is being used to promote increased shale gas trade and development according to the organisations, and to open Europe’s doors to tar sands – the dirtiest fossil fuel in commercial production.
Colin Roche, extractives campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe said: “Under the guise of energy security, the EU and US are undermining their own commitments to climate action by locking-in further reliance on dirty energy like shale gas and tar sands.”
“Diversification of energy supply does not mean more fossils fuels. The best path to energy security is to break the stranglehold of fossil fuel imports and develop our own clean renewable energy resources.”
Last month hundreds of people protested in frustration at the lack of urgent action on climate change by the EU. They called for a clean, safe energy future that puts people at the centre, not polluting corporations.
