The government has postponed the decision on new gas extraction under the Wadden Sea. This was agreed in the Council of Ministers on Friday. The cabinet wants to “talk” with the Dutch Petroleum Company (NAM) to “prevent” gas extraction under the Wadden Sea via the Frisian Ternaard. NAM previously appealed to the Council of State about the lack of a decision on gas extraction at Ternaard.
Recently, the State Supervision of Mines (SodM) again issued negative advice on new gas extraction in the Wadden Sea. The regulator fears that Wadden nature will suffer from new drilling. In 2019 he still gave a positive opinion, but recent scenarios of sea level rise made the SodM change its opinion.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Climate and Green Growth said that the minister may only refuse a permit for reasons stated in the Mining Act. A negative advice from SodM is not sufficient. The minister lacks “legal options” to refuse, the spokesperson said.
In addition to the Wadden Sea, the cabinet also spoke out on Friday about the extraction of gas in small Groningen fields. The main agreement still contained the agreement ‘No Groningen gas’. In recent months, coalition parties have increasingly interpreted this formulation as: no more gas from the Groningen field. It now appears that the cabinet is extending the permit for gas extraction at Warffum in Groningen until 2032. The cabinet is encouraged by a positive advice from the SodM. The government does want to “phase out” gas extraction on land and not issue permits after 2045.
Sophie Hermans, Minister of Climate and Green Growth (VVD), says that the “concerns of people in the regions where gas extraction takes place are taken seriously.” [te] “, but also states that she wants to ensure that the Netherlands has a “stable and safe energy supply” and becomes “less dependent” on other countries.
In response to the cabinet decision, the director of the SodM said on Friday that he had issued a positive advice on gas extraction in Warffum, but emphasized that this advice dates from the period before a parliamentary inquiry. “I can well imagine that Warff people would also like to see gas extraction in this field stopped.”
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A divided coalition
Gas extraction in the Wadden Sea can count on the emphatic opposition of the municipality of Noardeast-Fryslâan, the northern provinces and water boards. At the end of November, they announced that they would appeal to the Council of State if Minister Sophie Hermans (VVD) would grant the extraction permit to the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM).
Nature organizations also criticize gas extraction. In addition, UNESCO raised the alarm about the Wadden Sea this year. The world heritage may be labeled as ‘endangered’ if the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany do not better protect nature. UNESCO points to mining projects as one of the causes. Gas extraction causes land subsidence and, together with rising sea levels, can cause the mudflats to dry out more slowly, with all the consequences this entails for the ecosystem.
The current compromise on Ternaard was taken within a divided coalition. NSC and BBB are outspoken opponents, VVD and PVV want to grant the permit. For example, MPs from NSC and BBB, together with left-wing parties, submitted a motion on Thursday against granting a license to NAM. They wanted to vote on this the same day, but that was prevented by the VVD and PVV. The cabinet on Friday called gas extraction under the Wadden Sea “complex”.
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Cabinet must quickly make a decision on gas extraction in the Wadden Sea, but the coalition is divided
