‘A bad joke’: Greece gives green light to oil drilling while expanding marine protected areas

Greece is allowing US fossil fuel giant Chevron to drill next to a protected coastal area, sparking a legal complaint from green NGOs.

The government announced in January that it would be opening up new areas for offshore oil and gas exploration, after Chevron and national company HELLENiQ Energy expressed interest in more sites. 

Carved out of Greece’s Ionian coastline, they surround marine protected areas (MPAs) set aside to safeguard endangered species such as whales, dolphins, Monk seals and Loggerhead turtles.

At the same time, Greece’s environment ministry said it would expand MPAs in the Ionian Sea as part of its plans to create a national marine park. This ‘expansion’ isn’t news, exactly; the seabed in question is being relinquished by HELLENiQ because it has finished exploring the marine plot and does not want to exploit it.

These dual developments show a kind of “doublespeak” by the Greek government, and “can only be perceived as a bad joke,” says Greenpeace Greece. “Mining and protecting marine life do not fit together.”

Environmental lawyers urge the European Commission to intervene

Environmental lawyers at ClientEarth are urging the European Commission to stop what they say is unlawful drilling in a delicate environment.

It follows previous action from the NGO, alongside Greenpeace and WWF Greece, to fight Greece’s greenlighting of offshore drilling near protected areas, known as Natura 2000 sites. 

The three organisations filed a formal complaint with the Commission in December 2023, accusing Greece of “systematically” giving a free pass to companies, and flouting EU laws by not carrying out proper environmental impact assessments. 

Last December, the Commission finally confirmed it will “seek clarifications” on how the Greek authorities arrived at their approval decisions for projects. Its investigation is ongoing, meanwhile the new sites offered for drilling are even closer to the MPAs than those that triggered the lawyers’ original complaint.

“Ecosystems that work are one of our principal allies in the climate fight - their importance cannot be overstated and protecting nature should be an absolute priority. But what we’re seeing here is whales, dolphins, turtles and vital seabed ecology being sacrificed for fossil fuels,” says ClientEarth lawyer Francesco Maletto. 

“This is upside-down decision-making and we’re depending on the European Commission to put a stop to it.”

The Hellenic Trench, which runs from the northern Ionian Sea to south of Crete, is a marine biodiversity hotspot of global ecological importance, the lawyers stress. Scientific evidence shows that the drilling, loud seismic waves and increase in vessels that hydrocarbon exploration and extraction bring could imperil this vital ecosystem. 

Despite recognising its value by planning to establish an Ionian marine park (now postponed until mid-2025), the legal team believes the Greek government is clearly being swayed by fossil fuel interests.

“Chevron's interest, combined with the fact that ExxonMobil is already active in our country, marks the simultaneous presence of two energy giants and reinforces the belief that Greece can play a leading role in the global energy market and confirms that our country is an attractive investment destination,” the ministry said in January.

“As the Eastern Mediterranean is fast becoming a climate hell-zone, there's absolutely no room for new oil and gas,” says Anna Vafeiadou, legal sector leader of WWF Greece. 

“We urge the European Commission to uphold its role as guardian of the EU Treaties.”

A spokesperson for the Commission confirmed to Euronews Green that it received ClientEarth’s letter in February, and will reply in due course. “The Commission is still conducting its investigation and is in contact with the Greek authorities,” they added.