Move again against the arrival of ethane-cracker INEOS in the port of Antwerp: ‘Pal is now in camp Saturn Demir’ | Antwerp

Activists put up a banner resembling an official tender banner with the mottos of Ineos, the Flemish government, the city of Antwerp and Port of Antwerp. Ineos President Jim Ratcliffe, Antwerp Mayor Bart De Wever and Flemish Ministers Zuhal Demir and Hilde Crevits are listed as “builders”. In addition, there is data about the planned ethane cracker, for example that it will emit 454,000 tons of CO2 and 167 tons of nitrogen oxide per year.

On Saturday mornings, the group took her along Antwerp Grote Markt, Provincial House, and Port House. Finally, the sign reached the site in Lilo, where the ethane cracker will be built.

Activist Neil Quinn does not understand that the ethane cracker has obtained an environmental permit. “The mandate of the province of Antwerp, which approved the permit, made it a condition in the permit that ‘Ineos must strive to become climate-neutral within ten years.’” We keep saying: CCS (“Carbon capture and storage” from ondergrondse CO2-opslag, in red.) It is still in its infancy and as a climate-neutral technology is not so sacred and expensive. Moreover, the term climate neutral is a joke as long as you are working on shale gas. The ball is now in Saturn Demir’s court. Will it show the same amount of climate ambition as with the gas-fired power plant in Vilford and the decommissioning of this plastics plant? That’s the big question for us.”

ClientEarth lawyers announced Friday that they will appeal the environmental permit for the first project with 13 other NGOs. A new action is scheduled by Ineos Will Fall on January 28, this time for Demir Cabinet.

In response, Ineos asserted that the new ethane cracker emits significantly less CO2 than today’s best European steam cracker. “Project ONE’s ethylene customers can save 2 million tons of CO2 emissions per year because they are no longer dependent on the more polluting alternative.”

The company says that banning the project will eventually have a negative impact on the climate. “If industrial innovation in our region is systematically banned, we will end up with outdated and uncompetitive production equipment and eventually become dependent on imports from regions with less stringent environmental standards. The question is who will win here.”