Press release
Oil and gas drilling near protected Greek whale site set to go ahead - if Commission drops complaint
23 September
- Greece gives a free pass to offshore oil and gas projects at the expense of endangered species including whales, dolphins and turtles
- The European Commission was asked to hold Greece to account but is proposing to take no action
- NGOs urge the European Commission to reassess legal and scientific evidence of impact on biodiversity, and enforce laws to stop the drilling
NGOs are urging the European Commission to take action on their complaint against Greece for giving permits to companies to drill for oil and gas affecting Marine Protected Areas – in clear breach of EU and national laws.
Greece systematically gives a free pass to oil and gas projects off its coasts, directly jeopardising endangered species including sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins and loggerhead turtles.
In December 2023 ClientEarth, WWF Greece and Greenpeace Greece lodged a complaint with the European Commission asking them to hold Greece to account to ensure it safeguards these protected sites and the area’s biodiversity. The Commission is now threatening to close that complaint with no action taken, however their response does not coherently address arguments made about the violation of EU nature legislation, especially, the lack of appropriate assessment.
EU nature laws, in fact, require Greek authorities to fully assess the impact that such activities have on threatened marine life in protected areas, known as Natura 2000 sites, before giving them the green light. However the Greek government, backed by its Parliament and Council of State, persistently allows offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities to go ahead without the proper assessments.
ClientEarth nature lawyer Francesco Maletto said: “These violations jeopardise protected marine habitats and endangered species – and to make matters worse, it’s for the benefit of fossil fuel exploration and exploitation, which exacerbate both the biodiversity and climate crises. Nature fights climate change; oil and gas worsen it. There is only one logical, and legal, path to take.”
These oil and gas projects are located in the Hellenic Trench, which stretches from the Ionian Sea to the Dodecanese. The area is a biodiversity hotspot, home to bottlenose dolphins and loggerhead turtles, and is the primary habitat for an endangered group of sperm whales, found only in the Mediterranean Sea.
The NGOs are urging the European Commission to reassess legal and scientific evidence of impact on biodiversity – from activities including drilling, installation of pipelines and platforms, and site decommissioning (sometimes using explosives) – and take action to ensure that EU laws are not undermined.
The Commission’s intervention is essential but has instead pushed the NGOs back to Greek authorities, despite the fact the national Court has not rectified (but rather endorsed) this legal breach, and all potential remedies at the national level have been exhausted.
Maletto added: “It is clear, in the present case, the national Court is not safeguarding EU law, but rather endorsing a blatant disregard of its obligations. The European Commission is the guardian and enforcer of EU laws yet their reply suggests an unwillingness to engage. It is essential they take action to ensure that our legal framework is not undermined by Member States like we are seeing here from Greece.”
WWF Greece chief lawyer Anna Vafeiadou said: “The impacts of the triple climate, biodiversity and pollution crisis urgently call for the European Commission’s action to focus on the enforcement of EU environmental law by the member states that violate EU and international law. The Commission has in its hands valuable, up to date and extensive scientific work provided by the environmental NGOs that can support a compelling case to hold the Greek authorities accountable. Strong action is needed now to protect the Hellenic Trench and its valuable biodiversity against existing and new hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation programmes.”
Greece is at the forefront of the climate crisis, with flooding and wildfires now commonplace. The ocean and its ecosystems play a vital role in protecting the planet against warming. Greece has been making some progress in protecting its seas: it adopted in law the goal of protecting 30 per cent of its ocean area by 2030 and has pledged to ban bottom trawling in its Marine Protected Areas by 2030, starting by 2026 in Marine National Parks (which are to be newly created, one including part of the Hellenic Trench). But these efforts to protect the marine environment in Greece will be jeopardised if the offshore oil and gas projects move forward.
Greenpeace Greece Climate & Energy Campaign Lead Kostis Grimanis said: "A reckless push for oil and gas extraction in protected areas like the Hellenic Trench undermines the country's biodiversity and climate goals. By endangering vulnerable species such as whales, Greece is sacrificing its natural heritage for short-term fossil fuel gains, which will only make some fossil fuel companies richer. The European Commission must step in now to hold Greece accountable and enforce EU environmental law before it's too late for these irreplaceable ecosystems and the climate.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- In December 2023 ClientEarth, WWF Greece and Greenpeace Greece asked the European Commission to launch infringement proceedings against Greece. An infringement procedure is initiated when the European Commission finds that an EU Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law. EU countries are found to be in breach of EU laws if they either fail to implement them, or if countries adopt national laws or an administrative practice that are inconsistent with EU laws.
- The European Commission has been accused in recent years of softening enforcement, with action against legal infringements dropping sharply over recent years, damaging environmental protection. This goes contrary to the focus on enforcement action, which in the Political Guidelines for the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen emphasised as playing a crucial role in the Commission’s agenda. In July the European Commission dropped possible legal action against five member states for failing to police ban on discarding fish.
- Natura 2000 is a network of protected areas covering Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats. It is the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world, extending across all 27 EU Member States, both on land and at sea. The sites within Natura 2000 are designated under the Habitats and Birds Directives.
- Scientific analysis, sent by ClientEarth, WWF Greece and Greenpeace Greece to the Commission, demonstrates the harmful aspects of these activities leading to the destruction and deterioration of marine and coastal habitats. Activities including site clearance, drilling, the construction and installation of pipelines and drilling platforms, lead to pollution, oil spills, vessel traffic increases the possibility of strikes and collisions with protected species. Eventually the site will be cleared and decommissioned, which includes the removal of structures (sometimes using explosives), and the capping and abandonment of any wells.
- The Hellenic Trench hosts seven marine mammal species and in particular six cetacean varieties and the Mediterranean Monk seal. It is a core habitat for Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and the endangered Mediterranean Sperm whale. The Hellenic Trench is also the largest among the five high-density areas for the vulnerable Cuvier’s beaked whale in the Mediterranean. Fin whales, Bottlenose, common, Risso’s, Striped and Rough-toothed dolphins, but also sea turtles are found in the Hellenic Trench. The paramount ecological significance of the Hellenic Trench has been recognised by international agreements, such as the Agreement for the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS).
- A summary of the complaint to the European Commission is available upon request.
About WWF Greece
WWF Greece is a national organization of the WWF network, founded in 1991. We are actively building and promoting solutions for people, the environment and the climate, with the ultimate goal of coexisting in harmony with nature. In the course of three decades, WWF Greece has worked together with many other partners to design and implement a series of initiatives, ranging from: the establishment and management of protected areas in many parts of the country, the conservation of endangered species, applied conservation research in the field, key policy and governance proposals to the government and the EU, and international collaboration. For further information, please visit https://www.wwf.gr/en/
About Greenpeace Greece
Greenpeace Greece is part of the network of 25 independent national/regional organisations in over 55 countries across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, as well as a co-ordinating body, Greenpeace International. It is an independent campaigning organisation, which uses peaceful, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and develop solutions for a green and peaceful future. Our work is based on a number of principles which are reflected in all our campaigns and guide whatever we do, wherever we do it. https://www.greenpeace.org/greece/
About ClientEarth
ClientEarth is a non-profit organisation that uses the law to create systemic change that protects the Earth for – and with – its inhabitants. We are tackling climate change, protecting nature and stopping pollution, with partners and citizens around the globe. We hold industry and governments to account, and defend everyone’s right to a healthy world. From our offices in Europe, Asia and the USA we shape, implement and enforce the law, to build a future for our planet in which people and nature can thrive together.