Protestors bid to stop fracking in Bodensee area

The ÖVP state parliament club is attempting to increase the pressure against fracking in the area around Bodensee, Western Austria. The aim of this is to prevent fracking in the drainage area of the Bodensee drinking water reservoir at the state, national and EU-level.

The Green Party has severe doubts regarding the issue, which was discussed in the state parliament of Vorarlberg on Wednesday afternoon. The shale gas amount obtained from a depth of thousands of metres has been heavily debated due to the necessary use of chemicals.

The drinking water reservoir Bodensee provides water for five million people. There are international companies carrying out fracking in both Germany and Switzerland.

The legal means regarding energy politics in neighbouring states are fairly low as this is a national matter. A concrete endangerment of health must be proven. The fight against the Swiss nuclear power plant shows how difficult this is.

For this reason, the Green Party wants to organise public protests, said Johannes Rauch, party leader of the Greens. Governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP) promised to campaign for a ban on fracking at all political levels and an increase in renewable energy.

The ÖVP club wants to start a new initiative with the goal of preventing the use of fracking in the Bodensee area at a state and EU-level.