In May of 2025, Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) filed for judicial review of the proposed 600 megawatt Shannon LNG power plant before the High Court of Ireland. The plaintiff alleges that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) produced by the developer contains “critical failures.” These insufficiencies center around inaccurate climate impact assessments, as the FIE contends that the EIS significantly underestimates the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, upstream and downstream emissions, and methane leakage associated with the project. 

The complaint specifically alleges that the project does not comply with EU taxonomy criteria for sustainable activities, specifically with lifecycle emissions thresholds pursuant to the EU’s sustainable finance regulations. Based on the flawed EIS, FIE claims that permitting the project breaches obligations under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act of 2021 and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive. Proceedings occurred in late May of 2025, and a judgment from the High Court is now pending. 

Meanwhile, in 2025, Shannon LNG reactivated and submitted a broader application for the entire Shannon Technology and Energy Park, with a decision expected in September of 2025.

Friends of the Irish Environment v. Shannon LNG

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

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Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives