Earlier this week, several European political and social actors met up for the second time in the European Parliament to categorically oppose Repsol’s plans for oil prospects in waters off the Canary Islands (Lanzarote and Fuerteventura), a project authorized by the Spanish government. Oceana doesn’t approve the decision of the Supreme Court that might contribute … Read more
Oceana regrets the decision of the Supreme Court to approve the permits that have been granted to Repsol to prospect for hydrocarbons on the eastern coastline of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. This decision will help to destroy up to 25 marine areas and 82 protected species that were documented by Oceana during its expedition in this … Read more
Bad news: More and more environmental impact studies by companies involved in hydrocarbon prospecting are coming to the conclusion that biodiversity in prospective areas is so scarce that you might as well be on the surface of the moon instead of a the bottom of the ocean. It doesn’t make sense, and when you take … Read more
Yesterday, Belize’s Supreme Court declared offshore drilling contracts issued by the Government of Belize (in 2004 and 2007) null and void, providing a dramatic and potentially definitive setback to The Government of Belize and the petroleum prospecting companies issued the contracts.The ruling, handed down by Justice Oswell Legall, was in response to a case brought … Read more
Our colleagues in North America have released a new report: “A Deaf Whale Is a Dead Whale: Seismic Airgun Testing for Oil and Gas Threatens Marine Life and Coastal Ecosystems” which goes into the dangerous and destructive practice that has become all too common. Airguns use compressed air to generate intense pulses of sound that … Read more
Today, the EU informal trialogue came to an agreement on the proposed Directive on safety of offshore oil and gas activities – a legislation initiated by the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Oceana is disappointed by the weakening of the legislation, whose legal basis of a Regulation was turned into … Read more
Oceana is appalled by the vote of the Industry, Transport, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee of the European Parliament, which adopted this morning its report on the proposal for a Regulation on safety of offshore oil and gas prospection, exploration and production activities. Following intense lobbying from the oil industry and oil-drilling Member States opposed … Read more
Oceana welcomes the EU Parliament Environment Committee’s adoption of its opinion on the Safety of offshore oil and gas activities file. Their report, which was voted on yesterday in Brussels, introduced several key elements long advocated for by Oceana, such as the involvement of the European Safety and Maritime Agency in oversight of offshore hydrocarbon … Read more
The Habitats Directive is the most important EU environmental legislation, requiring EU Member States to protect specific habitat types by incorporating them into a network of protected areas (both on land and at sea) called Natura 2000. But it’s not looking like every country is going to meet their requirements. In the Canary Islands for … Read more
Even with the Commission’s proposed regulation on offshore safety, the risks of oil or gas accidents in European waters would remain unacceptably high. The proposal needs strengthening, not watering down. Deepwater Horizon spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 and local communities are still suffering the consequences. The … Read more
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We have already protected nearly 4 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea life - but there is still more to be done.
Oceana in Europe gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.
