Greenpeace Black Sea protest: Proposed gas project could cause tens of thousands premature deaths

Constanța - Tens of thousands of people worldwide could die prematurely before the end of the century due to extreme temperatures caused by the total greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel company OMV Petrom's Neptun Deep project, according to an expert analysis prepared for Greenpeace Romania.[1] Today, a Greenpeace activist in an electric paraglider peacefully protested the project by flying near the Transocean Barents platform in the port of Constanța and unfurling a banner reading 'Stop Fossil Gas'. The platform is currently undergoing final preparations before being moved to the Neptun Deep drilling site. Neptun Deep would be located in the Romanian Black Sea and is Europe's largest proposed fossil gas drilling project.[2]

The analysis puts the possible death toll until 2100 at 46,000, for temperature-related deaths only. While there are major uncertainties in any such estimate, it illustrates the huge risks OMV Petrom is taking by developing Neptun Deep, gambling with everyone's safety. Neptun Deep would also contribute to increased air pollution and other extreme weather events. In addition to temperature-related deaths, the analysis estimates that more than 1.2 million children born between 2010 and 2020 could experience one additional heat wave in their lifetime as a result of emissions from Neptun Deep alone. This gas drilling project, which indirectly receives public funding from the EU, could produce more than 200 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over 20 years.[3]

Vlad Catuna, Climate and Energy campaigner at Greenpeace Romania, said: "Who will explain to our children that in the middle of the climate crisis, greedy corporations and complicit governments just kept building more destructive fossil gas infrastructure? Fossil gas is the promise for high energy bills, massive floods and deadly heat waves. This is not the future that we want. OMV Petrom and Romanian authorities can't ignore the threat Neptun Deep poses to our collective future. This destructive project must be stopped."

Last week, OMV Petrom signed a first deal with German energy company Uniper SE to supply Germany. With Neptun Deep, Romania wants to become the EU's biggest gas producer, whereas several analyses show that the EU does not need expanded gas supplies to meet the declining European demand.[4]

Lisa Göldner, Fossil-Free Future Campaigner from Greenpeace Germany, said: "This project, together with the many other new gas infrastructure projects fossil fuel companies are planning, will lock the EU into an outdated, destructive energy system that harms people's wellbeing, safety and future. We must break free from fossil gas dependence by investing in reducing gas demand, expanding renewables and cutting energy waste. The EU and national governments have the responsibility to put an end to fossil fuel companies' deadly gas rush starting with banning all new fossil fuel projects."

In an open letter already signed by more than 78,000 people, Greenpeace is calling on the EU and national governments to ban all new fossil fuel infrastructure projects in the EU. In Romania 50,000 people already showed their opposition to Neptun Deep. Next week, the gas lobby will be meeting in Bucharest, Romania, for the European Gas Conference. Protests are already announced.

ENDS

Photos and videos are available in the Greenpeace Media Library.

Notes

[1] Read the full analysis. To estimate the number of temperature-related premature deaths that could be caused by Neptun Deep, Prof. Dr. Wim Thiery, Associate Professor at the Department of Water and Climate Vrije Universiteit Brussels, used the Mortality Cost of Carbon method developed by US researcher R. Daniel Bressler to estimate the number of temperature-related excess deaths which could take place globally until the year 2100, caused by present day carbon emissions. The emissions scenario used for this analysis assumes an increase of average global temperatures by 4.1 °C by 2100. Carbon mortality estimates are reliant on assumptions about emissions, climate dynamics and human responses to future climates. Every metric ton of carbon emitted today will contribute to heating our planet and is therefore set to contribute to impacts into the future. The link between fossil fuels and the climate crisis is well established, as is the relationship between human-caused climate change and an increase in extreme weather events. It is not possible to project with absolute certainty how our climate will change or the impacts it will have. Thus, the estimates presented here are reliant on many assumptions and are subject to large uncertainties. This research is intended only to illustrate the extent to which contemporary emissions may lead to future climate change impacts.

[2] More information about Neptun Deep in the media briefing "Neptun Deep: a European climate threat"

[3] While the EU no longer directly funds fossil fuel extraction, it can support infrastructure. The Tuzla-Podisor pipeline (that would transport the gas from the new Neptun Deep gas field to the shore, and without which the project cannot function) has already received over €230 million via the EU's Modernisation Fund and the European Investment Bank.

[4] EU has enough gas to last through 2040; gas demand in long-term decline

Contacts

Manon Laudy, Fossil-Free Future campaign press officer, Greenpeace Netherlands: +33649156983, [email protected]

Claudia Leonescu, Head of Communications & Engagement, Greenpeace Romania: +40773803456, [email protected]

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), [email protected] @greenpeacepress on X/Twitter for our latest international press releases.