U.S. And European Activists Host #BreakTheFrackingCycle Demonstrations Across Four Countries

From April 27 to May 1, an international coalition of U.S. and European activists called attention to the global consequences of the proposed Rio Grande Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export terminal, the Rio Bravo Pipeline that would transport gas to the terminal, and the fracking industry in Texas and abroad through a series of planned demonstrations in Texas, New York City, France, Germany, and Ireland called #BreakTheFrackingCycle.

From finance to extraction to transport to export to electricity generation, the fracked gas industry in South Texas is part of an international fracking cycle that pollutes communities all over the world. If the Houston-based fossil fuel company NextDecade’s proposed Rio Grande LNG terminal and Rio Bravo Pipeline are built, thanks to the support of French bank Société Générale, gas fracked in Texas would be exported to the European market, and in particular to Ireland, despite the fact that Ireland and France have both banned fracking in their own nations.  

Actions took place outside the offices of Société Générale in New York City and Paris, France; the office of NextDecade in The Woodlands, Texas; in Dublin, Ireland; nearby the proposed Rio Grande LNG terminal and Rio Bravo Pipeline sites in Brownsville and Port Isabel; outside the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany; and in the fracking fields of the Eagle Ford Shale located south of San Antonio, Texas.

These international #BreakTheFrackingCycle demonstrations have sought to amplify, on a national and international scale, the persistent opposition to the LNG industry expressed by local Rio Grande Valley residents for the past four years, as well as the international movement fighting back against the expansion of fracked gas projects.

If built, the Rio Grande LNG terminal would be the single-largest source emitter of air pollution in Cameron County, destroy pristine wetlands, and threaten local ecotourism shrimping and fishing businesses. The Rio Bravo Pipeline that would transport gas to the terminal would also put Texan families at risk of explosions. The construction of the Rio Grande LNG terminal would drive increased fracking in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, a practice that pumps toxic chemicals into the ground, contaminating aquifers and exposing rural communities to ozone and methane pollution.

The week of demonstrations was accompanied by a social media campaign that corresponded to each day’s action(s), providing education about the various aspects of the fracking cycle and mobilizing people to submit comments demanding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) deny permits for the Rio Grande LNG terminal and Rio Bravo Pipeline and sign an online pledge to defend South Padre Island.

The three Texas actions were spearheaded by the Sierra Club. Partnering organizations included Friends of the Earth France; Rainforest Action Network; Save RGV from LNG; Not Here, Not Anywhere; Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas; UK Youth Climate Coalition; and the Gastivists Collective.

Statements:

Bekah Hinojosa, Sierra Club Organizer, Brownsville, Texas: “Our Gulf Coast community is one of the last beaches on the Texas coastline without the towering fossil fuel industry. Rio Grande LNG, the Rio Bravo Pipeline, and the two other proposed LNG terminals would sacrifice our Latinx community and forever scar our region. LNG in our home is not a done deal, and we are organizing internationally to stop this polluting fracking cycle from becoming a reality.”

Lorette Philippot, Friends of the Earth France, Paris, France: “The French bank Société Générale presents LNG as a transition energy and positions itself as the international leader of this so-called green industry. And indeed, Société Générale is the leading bank worldwide financing liquefied fracked gas export in North America. The bank is today responsible for raising 20 billion dollars for Rio Grande LNG and Rio Bravo Pipeline. In  light of the impacts of the project, we call on Société Générale to withdraw from its advisory mandate to NextDecade and commit to not get involved in any of the LNG terminals planned in North America and beyond.”

Naomi Kreitman, UK Youth Climate Coalition and Gastivist Collective, Bonn, Germany: “We cannot achieve the Paris Climate agreement without a huge reduction in methane emissions, and yet countries are investing in new fracked gas infrastructure such as the Rio Grande LNG project. Fracked gas is responsible for recent global spikes in methane emissions, which are a dangerous  threat to the global climate. As a new round of international climate negotiations has opened on Monday in Bonn, it is crucial to bust the narrative that gas, especially fracked gas, is worth investing in as part of our transition to renewables. We are here at UN climate negotiations to remind the delegates of their responsibilities and to repeat that expanding the fossil fuel industry is totally inconsistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.”

Maria Galasso, Save RGV from LNG organization in Laguna Vista, TX: “Several of our coastal communities have taken strong opposition to Rio Grande LNG and the two other proposed fracked gas export terminals proposed by passing anti-LNG city resolutions. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Texas regulatory agencies, French bank Société Générale, and the UN, need to hear our international opposition to these projects and reject their permits.”

Ciara Barry, Not Here, Not Anywhere in Dublin, Ireland: “Ireland banned fracking because of the huge threat it poses to people and to our natural environment. It is unconscionable that Ireland should now be part of the international fracking cycle that profits from the exploitation of communities elsewhere in the world.”  

Juan Mancias, Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas in Floresville, TX: “The Esto’k Gna stay connected by knowing where our ancestors are buried. We, the Esto’k Gna, are against the LNG export terminals that would desecrate our burial sites and sacred lands. Stop the ethnic cleansing of the Esto’k Gna.”

Jason Opeña Disterhoft, Rainforest Action Network, San Francisco, California: “In the last two years, two major global banks — Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and BNP Paribas — have dropped their leading roles in the proposed LNG export terminal projects in the Rio Grande Valley. Société Générale should follow their lead. And their global peers should recognize that these greenfield projects — which would hurt local communities, abuse Indigenous rights, threaten endangered species and drive climate change — are unbankable, and steer clear going forward.”