The German North Sea Coast Protection Association (SDN) is calling on the German government not to conclude an agreement with the Netherlands on gas production off Borkum.
Are Germany and the Netherlands concluding gas production agreements?
"Not only the North Sea, but even the Wadden Sea nature reserve itself is increasingly being drawn into the vortex of increasing industrialization," said SDN chairman Gerd-Christian Wagner in a statement. He sees the danger that, as a result of the agreement, further gas extraction projects and other economic ventures in the North Sea will be difficult to prevent.
"Not to mention the associated increasing threat of accidents, which could permanently contaminate the Wadden Sea in particular," said Wagner. According to the association, around 200 members, including coastal municipalities, nature conservation associations, and other organizations, have joined forces.
Cabinet decision expected
Today, the international agreement between Germany and the Netherlands for the controversial gas production off the coast of Borkum could be a topic of discussion in the federal cabinet. Negotiations on the agreement have been underway since 2022.
If the agreement is concluded, it would represent a reversal in the federal government. Former Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) had stated during his term in office in August 2024 that he wanted to wait for possible court rulings before signing the agreement.
What exactly is planned
The Dutch energy company One-Dyas plans to extract gas from a cross-border deposit near the Wadden Sea. One-Dyas also plans to extract gas from a drilling platform on Dutch territory beneath the seabed in Germany. The Lower Saxony State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology granted an 18-year permit for this in 2024. However, an international agreement between the two countries is also required for gas extraction.
In recent days, several environmental protection associations and the Lower Saxony state government have criticized the plan to conclude the agreement while several court decisions regarding natural gas production are still pending. Lower Saxony's Environment Minister Christian Meyer (Greens) said the haste in the matter was unusual.
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