Overview

• Germany’s cabinet on July 2 approved a cross-border drilling agreement with the Netherlands to permit One-Dyas to extend natural gas extraction into waters off Borkum.
• Extraction in German waters remains on hold pending Bundestag ratification and expected court rulings on four ongoing lawsuits.
• Borkum’s mayor Jürgen Akkermann castigated Environment Minister Carsten Schneider for contradictory pledges on marine protection, vowing to press ahead with legal challenges.
• Environmental groups caution that routine emissions and potential accidents from the offshore platform could contaminate adjacent protected zones of the Wadden Sea.
• The decision highlights tensions between Europe’s drive to diversify energy supplies and Germany’s climate goals as the country expands its fossil fuel infrastructure.