The war in the Ukraine reveals in a brutal way the consequences of Europe's and in particular Germany's fossil fuel dependency on Putin's Regime. The international voices to cut these fossil ties are growing by the day. Many oil and gas producing companies - such as BP, Shell, Equinor and ExxonMobil - have already pulled out of Russia.
Against this backdrop, Germany’s largest oil and gas company, Wintershall Dea, is holding on to its fossil business in Russia, where it has been present for over 30 years, taking advantage of the country’s political repression and fracking-friendly legislation. In response to the invasion, the fossil giant announced merely that it would not undertake additional oil and gas projects in Russia, which is extremely underwhelming – to say the least – considering that nearly half of the company’s total production takes place in Russia. Wintershall Dea has been working very closely with Gazprom since 1990, with current joint ventures not only in Russia and Germany, but also in the UK and Netherlands, among other countries. Additionally, until the start of the Russian invasion, the company was involved in the biggest fossil project in Europe, Nord Stream 2, having contributed more than 730 million euros to the construction of the gas pipeline.
In this event, we will delve deeper into Wintershall Dea’s business model, its fossil ventures in Russia and its relationship with Gazprom, the repression faced by climate activists and civil society, as well as the violent effects of the oil and gas industry on the livelihoods of indigenous people in Russia.
Speakers include long-time energy campaigners Sonja Meister (Urgewald e.V.) and Vladimir Slivyak (Ecodefense; Right Livelihood Award 2021), and the indigenous rights defender Johannes Rohr (Institute for Ecology and Action Anthropology). The event will be facilitated by Kathrin Petz (Urgewald e.V.).
Please note that the event will be held in English with no translation and that the session will be recorded. Registered participants will receive a link to the recording after the event has taken place.
Event organised by: Urgewald e.V., Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. and Andy Gheorghiu Consulting.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsdOigrzgrE9VbdLR4_oZlEbAylDaNz1YT