Greenpeace takes legal action against gas drilling at the gates of the Kalkalpen National Park

Environmental protection organization will file a complaint against gas drilling permit this week. A law to end oil and gas production in Austria is urgently needed.

The Australian company ADX has received permission from the Upper Austrian nature conservation authority to drill for gas in Molln, Upper Austria. Greenpeace will legally challenge this positive decision together with lawyer Dr. Martin Fischer from Heger & Partner.

While the World Climate Conference in Dubai is currently focusing on phasing out fossil fuels worldwide, further climate-damaging gas drilling is being approved in Austria in complete contradiction to this. All previous appeals to the ADX Group and the government to drop these gas drilling plans have fallen on deaf ears. Greenpeace is now taking legal action and will file a complaint this week.

"The search for fossil gas is highly speculative, takes years and drives Austria further into dependence on dirty energy. Energy companies are recklessly putting our future at risk. We will not tolerate this and are now taking them to court," says Lisa Panhuber, spokesperson for Greenpeace in Austria.

Greenpeace is calling on the federal government to pass a law that protects Austria from ruthless exploitation by fossil fuel companies and ends oil and gas extraction in this country by 2035.

"The greed for profit of individual oil and gas companies must no longer threaten our future. We now need an immediate halt to new gas projects in Austria. The government must not just talk big about phasing out fossil fuels at the climate conference, but must also implement this here in Austria," says Panhuber.

Burning oil and gas not only has fatal consequences for the climate, but also endangers plants and animals in the directly adjacent nature reserve in Molln.

"ADX is accepting massive environmental destruction in Molln for the sake of short-term gas profits. Heavy machinery has to be driven through the sensitive ecosystem in the immediate vicinity of the nature reserve and national park just for the test drilling. The forests and meadows there are valuable habitats for lynx, white-backed woodpeckers and many other rare animals and plants. Canceling the project is not only a benefit for the climate, but also for the protection of endangered species in Austria," says Panhuber.