Environmental organizations oppose agreements signed by the Albanian government to establish an energy center in Vlora for liquefied natural gas, because according to them it injects "fossil poison" into the country.
Albanian authorities signed on April 28 two agreements on energy resources brokered with the United States of America, which foresee the development of an energy hub in Vlora as well as an agreement for the supply of liquefied natural gas.
According to the Albanian government, these agreements aim to position Albania as a strategic gateway for energy throughout the region.
“A central pillar of this vision is the development of the Vlora Energy Center, which is a component, a multi-component project that will redefine Albania's role on this energy map,” said Enea Karakaçi, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure.
Present during the signing, the United States Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, also emphasized Albania's role as a connecting node in the Balkans.
“These $6 billion deals for liquefied natural gas show that Albania is playing an ever-increasing role as a connector in the Western Balkans,” Guilfoyle said, adding that in the energy sector, security and prosperity go hand in hand.
But unlike the enthusiasm that accompanied the signing of the agreements, a number of environmental organizations in Albania are skeptical and criticize such agreements.
The Movement for Energy and Climate, a group of six environmental organizations, opposed this agreement through a statement to the media, assessing that brick-and-mortar agreements bring environmental and economic damage to the country.
"The agreement aims to maximize the profits of multinational companies through the sale of gas in the Balkans," the statement says, which also brings to attention the costs of the previous agreement with the company Exelerate Energy in Albania for the floating thermal power plant in Vlora.
"In Vlora, where this fossil fuel industry is planned to be installed, this would cause very significant environmental and economic damage," the Movement for Energy and Climate further says.
According to environmental organizations, Vlora has an ecosystem with high environmental values and an already consolidated tourism industry, so this agreement would be to the detriment of the coastal city.
"We believe that the people of Vlora will massively reject the injection of fossil fuel into Albania," the statement concludes. /BIRN/
