Photo(c) Luka Tomac
Zelena akcija/FoE Croatia held a protest action during an international gathering of the gas industry in Opatija, stating that the fossil fuel industry continues to sell people a dirty lie by presenting gas as a clean fuel.
“For almost a decade, we have been repeating scientific facts about the harmfulness of gas for the climate. Its main ingredient, methane is in a shorter, but for us critical period, is as much as 86 times stronger in warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. We’ve also been repeating the facts about the harmfulness of gas for human health, especially in households where it is used for cooking”, said Marija Mileta from FoE Croatia. Namely, gas stoves are associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma and higher levels of carcinogenic benzene, similar to passive smoking. They affect air quality, even when they are not in use.
Photo(c) Matej Marjanović
Mileta also emphasised that millions of euros of our money are planned to be invested in new gas infrastructure in Croatia, instead of being invested in improving the living conditions of the citizens of this country. “We live in a time when many of our fellow citizens are barely making ends meet, in a time of general crisis of living. Just imagine living in a country that invests in food, health and housing for people, and not in dirty gas. In a country that measures progress and well-being by the quality of life of its citizens, and not by the quantity of profit of a certain minority”, Mileta said, adding: “What direct benefit do we have from the LNG terminal on Krk, and even the planned 100% increase in its capacity? Do we live better? Do we have lower bills? No. On the contrary, people, for example, have to save on heating in order to be able to pay their bills”.
Croatia is becoming increasingly dependent on the dirty gas we import from the US, where mostly LNG is delivered from. This gas is mostly extracted using the extremely environmentally and health-damaging fracking method, transported via US terminals, where people living nearby are getting cancer, and then transported via Croatia to rich European countries. “The impact of US LNG on the climate is extremely large because it emits 33 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than coal. So it is dirtier than coal”, Mileta explained. In addition, Trump is “asking” that the EU buy their gas worth 350 billion USD, which would be about five times more than the current value of US imports of all fossil fuels.
Photo(c) Matej Marjanović
"I think this is a schizophrenic situation. The industry and decision-makers, who meet at conferences like this in Opatija, know very well what their so-called clean gas does and thus, among other things, fuels violence, wars and genocide all over the world. However, they simply do not care because their profit comes first and they have no problem lying and deceiving the public", said Mileta.
She again emphasised that gas has been scientifically proven to be neither clean nor green. "In practice, we see how it destroys communities. And because of the huge LNG boom in Europe, we will feel even stronger consequences for global warming, unless we turn the situation around, put the focus on human lives and the solutions that are already there and that can help make the world a more just place. In the end, the question is simple: will we choose life or gas?", Mileta concluded.
The full photo gallery from the action is HERE.
Photo(c) Matej Marjanović
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