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The environmental organization Greenpeace reiterates its call for a national emergency energy saving plan to reduce our energy dependence on Moscow and thus travel less »accomplices in Putin’s war crimes“.

According to the report by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), Belgium is the world’s seventh largest importer of Russian oil and gas, due in particular to the large volumes of liquefied fossil gas (LNG) shipped to Asia. .

“With import terminals in Zeebrugge and Dunkirk, France, (the Belgian gas transmission company) Fluxys is even the largest importer of Russian LNG in the world“, points Greenpeace. “No less than 10% of all Russian LNG passed through Zeebrugge storage tanks, almost all of it destined for non-European countries“, emphasizes the organization.

Financing the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Over the past two months, the newly merged port of Antwerp-Zeebrugge has been the world’s second largest import port for Russian fossil fuels, the organization further notes. “Only Rotterdam has done worse. Zeebrugge received €717 million worth of LNG during this period. For Antwerp, it is mainly oil or derivative products, for a total value of 600 million euros“, she details.

Belgium therefore plays an important role in Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels, which itself plays a key role in financing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, observes Greenpeace. “Until we sufficiently restrict our imports of Russian oil and gas, our country risks being complicit in Putin’s war crimes.“, met Carine Thibaut, spokesperson for Greenpeace Belgium, on guard.

The organization therefore calls once again for a halt to imports of fossil fuels from Russia and reiterates its plea for an emergency energy saving plan, which has so far remained unanswered. “If our governments can’t take drastic energy-saving measures in times of war, climate and energy crises, when can they?“, asks the spokesperson for Greenpeace Belgium.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine on February 24, Greenpeace has counted 74 ships in Belgium carrying oil and gas from Russia, “which represents more than five million cubic meters or 2,000 Olympic pools of oil and gas“.