People power has won another victory against fossil fuels: the MidCat/STEP gas pipeline between France and Spain was just cancelled!
Yesterday the French and Spanish energy agencies announced that the pipeline, which was meant to link the two countries, was scrapped. The controversial fossil fuel project would have damaged communities and the environment, and was terrible news for the climate.
This is a HUGE win for the local communities in Catalonia and France, who have been campaigning and protesting for years.
Scrapping MidCat is also a victory for the climate movement across Europe and the world, and a painful blow to the fossil fuel industry – and their false claims that fossil gas can be a “transition fuel”. It throws into question other new gas infrastructure projects being pushed and financed by the European Union.
We urgently need an energy transition – to a system that is just, fair, and powered by 100% renewable, distributed, community-led energy. To keep global temperature rise below 1.5C, there’s no more room for any new fossil fuels, including gas.
So today, we are celebrating, but the fight against gas goes on, and gathers more and more momentum. From gas fields in Groningen in the Netherlands, to the Tuxpan-Tula pipeline in Mexico, the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline in Italy and Greece, to activists trying to raise awareness of gas extraction plans in Zanzibar, communities and activists are resisting fossil fuels.
The story of MidCat shows us that we are powerful, and we are already winning. Our movement swells in moments of celebration, so please watch and share this video to help spread the news: on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Together, we can stop all new gas projects. It’s not only possible, it is already happening.