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Borkum Gas Project Cleared for Immediate Start as Activists Launch Island Camp

A fresh legal opinion challenges the treaty underpinning the project as unconstitutional.

Overview

  • Lower Saxony’s mining authority approved a Sofortvollzug this week, allowing One-Dyas to begin drilling and production in German waters near Borkum despite pending lawsuits.
  • Fridays for Future and Deutsche Umwelthilfe opened a four-day Klimacamp on Borkum with more than 200 participants, with a demonstration planned at the island station on Friday.
  • A Greenpeace-commissioned analysis by lawyer Roda Verheyen deems the GermanDutch unitarisation agreement unlawful, noting it still requires Bundestag and Bundesrat ratification.
  • One-Dyas began test production on the Dutch side in March and plans to start a German‑side well in December, with gas output projected as early as 2026.
  • Environmental groups warn of an estimated 65 million tonnes of CO2 over the project’s life and harm to nearby reef habitats, while a recent court ruling allowed a power cable route and a federal bill to ban offshore extraction in protected zones would not cover the Borkum site.