Citing violation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the Guidelines), Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), in collaboration with Fridays for Future Austria, has lodged an OECD complaint against Austrian fossil fuel giant OMV.
The complaint, viewed by Climate Court, alleges that OMV’s strategy to continue fossil fuel expansions violates the Guidelines’ requirement for companies to “act as soon as possible, and in a proactive way, to avoid adverse environmental impacts”. Specifically, OMV is committed to proceeding with its controversial Neptun Deep project in the Romanian Black Sea.
According to OMV itself, the Neptun Deep project “is the largest natural gas project in the Romanian Black Sea” and promises to make Romania the European Union’s largest gas producer. Currently, the project is likely to extract 100 bcm of fossil gas extracted during the first two decades following its 2027 start date. This has drawn criticism for its potential climate impact and threats to the surrounding ecosystem.
The complainants point to the International Energy Agency’s “Net Zero Roadmap”, which states that “[n]o new long-lead time upstream oil and gas projects are needed”. This statement was confirmed earlier this week by a new study, which found that the world already has sufficient fossil fuel projects planned to meet ‘demand forecasts’ for a 2050 net zero scenario. Jasmin Duregger, climate and energy expert at Greenpeace CEE, told Climate Court that “by ignoring these warnings from the International Energy Agency and still heading into the exploration business, of which Neptune Deep is only one aspect, they are not sticking to the most current science”.
Moreover, the complainants refer to an investigation conducted by the OECD itself, regarding Romania’s accession into the OECD. The report highlights that “new gas exploration projects [in Romania] run counter to climate mitigation objectives” and that “[d]eclining demand for fossil fuels could increase commercial risks to new projects”.
Prior to filing the OECD complaint, Greenpeace was also part of a coalition of groups (together with 2Celsius, WWF, and Declic) that wrote an open letter to challenge a Romanian law that facilitates gas exploration in the Black Sea. Separate legal action was filed by Greenpeace Romania earlier this year over shortcomings in the approval process to allow the Neptune Deep project.
According to Jasmin Duregger, climate and energy expert at Greenpeace CEE, they are “challenging this project on different levels, and the OECD level is an additional avenue to pursue”. She also refers to the OECD complaints mechanism as a “helpful soft law tool” that can be used to open helpful deliberation with companies.
OECD Complaints to Address Climate Change Concerns
The Guidelines are non-binding recommendations as to how multinational enterprises can engage in responsible behaviour. The Guidelines cover various aspects of what makes up such responsible behaviour, including human rights, labour standards, environmental protections, and anti-corruption. The OECD complaints mechanism, also known as the ‘Specific Instance’ process, allows stakeholders to raise concerns about companies’ adherence to the Guidelines. It is a soft law mechanism, but it benefits from allowing a structured and formal process to file complaints.
Complaints are filed with National Contact Points (NCP) in countries that adhere to the Guidelines. It is up to the NCP whether to accept a complaint or not. NCPs can serve as facilitators or mediators. If they accept a complaint, they can open a dialogue between the enterprise in question and the stakeholder(s).
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