A group of 40 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), citizens, experts and environmental activists sent an open letter today to the Government of Montenegro, the Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajić and the Minister of Energy and Mining, Admir Šahmanović, calling for the suspension of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Japanese company JERA Co. Inc. Japan, which relates to the development of fossil gas projects in Montenegro, which includes a gas power plant and an LNG terminal with accompanying infrastructure.
The open letter was submitted to the media by Nataša Kovačević, a civic activist and coordinator for the Western Balkans at the CEE Bankwatch Network, and Vesna Čejović, a citizen of Bar and public advocate for several hundred citizens of Bar in the campaign against the gas power plant and LNG terminal in Bar.
"Non-governmental organizations from Montenegro, international organizations, independent experts and citizens send you this letter of concern and a clear call to suspend the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Montenegro and the company JERA Co. Inc. Japan, on cooperation in the field of energy, namely the implementation of a comprehensive feasibility study for the development, procurement, construction, management, maintenance and financing of an LNG terminal and an accompanying gas power plant in Montenegro, which is planned to be held at the GASTECH 2025 gas forum in Milan from 9-12 September 2025. We remind the Minister and the Government that the Spatial Plan of Montenegro until 2040 assessed the objections of the citizens of the Municipality of Bar, its institutions, expert team and NGO activists as well-founded, and excluded the LNG terminal from the plan, and that the Government, by such an act, violates the highest spatial planning document, which leads to the commission of several criminal offenses, of which we will also inform the relevant EU institutions," the open letter states.
It is added that the citizens of Bar, representatives of the Assembly and the Municipality of Bar, have clearly expressed unified opposition to the construction of the LNG terminal.
"The project not only lacks community consensus, but also poses a threat to safety, the environment and public health. The local community has already clearly stated that it will not allow the implementation of the LNG terminal, while planning activities against the will of citizens can have serious social consequences. Also, the processing of comments received on the National Energy and Climate Plan, which received numerous negative comments related to the development of gas infrastructure, is in the process of being completed, and which must also include suggestions from the Energy Community. The Government is obliged to postpone and reconsider any plans for projects that significantly burden the achievement of Montenegro's decarbonization goals by 2050," it says in an open letter to the Government, Spajić and Šahmanović.
It is also stated that the Platform's Proposal for concluding the Memorandum of Cooperation states that: "the project has strategic value because it ensures security of supply... and represents a transitional solution" and that "Montenegro receives strong support for the development of the energy sector, strengthening the resilience of the electricity system and meeting the goals of decarbonization and climate neutrality".
"After the EU has been intensively trying to reduce its dependence on gas for the past few years, it is absolutely inappropriate to claim that gas is in any way useful in ensuring security of energy supply. Montenegro does not have a developed gas infrastructure today, which is actually an advantage compared to the countries of the region and this should be used for a faster transition to sustainable renewable energy sources. Instead, a debt of over a billion euros is planned for gas power plant and storage projects, which would make us permanently dependent on gas imports from third countries such as Azerbaijan or Russia. The example of Serbia clearly shows the dangers of such dependence: in 2023, the entire district heating sector recorded losses of 10 million euros for the first time and accumulated an additional 36,4 million euros in debt, precisely due to unstable gas prices and the burden of investments," the letter from 40 NGOs, citizens, experts and environmental activists states.
The document states that Montenegro, as a country aspiring to membership in the European Union, has undertaken a clear commitment to align with European decarbonization goals in accordance with the Energy Community Treaty and the Sofia Declaration.
"In July 2025, the European Commission presented a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040 compared to 1990 levels[1]. Any investment in new gas-fired power plants, combined heat and power plants and supporting infrastructure, the implementation of which would take at least five to ten years, would represent a serious risk and a completely irresponsible move, as the operational life of such plants would be limited to only a few years before complete decarbonization in 2050. Such projects would create a new dependence on imported gas and burden the state with multi-million euro long-term costs, without a realistic possibility of return on investment, and cannot be economically justified. Also, the idea of replacing fossil gas with green hydrogen for the purpose of generating electricity and especially heat on this scale is unrealistic and misleading, since such quantities of hydrogen will not be available at an acceptable price," the letter states.
It is also added that the 2017 Gasification Master Plan is already outdated, and that seven years later it has not recorded any progress in implementation.
"It stated back in 2015 that connection to the IAP and TAP would be possible from 2020, which never happened. The IAP gas pipeline was not built even when the EU was ready to finance it, which today makes any assumption that the project could come to life completely unrealistic.[2] Therefore, it is necessary to officially abandon all gasification projects and invest efforts in increasing energy efficiency and developing sustainable renewable energy sources. It is too late to start building any new infrastructure for fossil fuels, and European financial institutions such as the EBRD, EIB and others have already made it clear that they will not support gas projects," the open letter to the Government, Spajić and Šahmanović reads.
The document also states that it is worth noting that "alleged plans for commercial exploitation of gas from the Montenegrin offshore are unrealistic and misleading, given that we do not have any active exploitation to date, and that the period from discovery to production in offshore fields in mature basins such as the North Sea alone lasts on average about 17 years, or from discovery to commissioning 12-16 years."
"This shows that any hope of quickly converting exploration activities into commercial exploitation in Montenegro is not based on any empirical parameter, but solely on illusions. Fossil gas cannot be a temporary solution in 2025. It would require the construction of an entire gas pipeline through difficult terrain, hundreds of millions of euros of investment in thermal power plants, and permanent dependence on expensive imported gas. Such infrastructure is not built "temporarily", because once built, it remains in operation for at least forty years or more. Montenegro has no more time to invest in projects that will further tie us to fossil fuels and move us away from the goals of decarbonization," the letter states.
It is also stated that Montenegro must focus its resources and policies on the accelerated development of sustainable renewable energy sources - solar, wind, geothermal, as well as on energy efficiency measures and efficient technologies for storing electrical and thermal energy, including the electrification of heating and cooling systems.
"Any further borrowing and investments in fossil infrastructure directly distance us from a clean energy transition and increase financial and climate risks. Therefore, we call on the Government of Montenegro to officially abandon signing the Agreement related to the gasification project and focus on sustainable investments that will ensure real long-term energy security, reduce costs for citizens and comply with European climate policies. Any further postponement of these decisions represents a serious omission with unforeseeable consequences for the future of the country," concludes an open letter from 40 NGOs, citizens, experts and environmental activists to the Government, Spajić and Šahmanović.
Signatory organizations: (names of NGOs, institutions and individuals)
- Milica Kankaraš Berber, activist
- NGO Society Dr Martin Schneider–Jacoby Assoc -MSJA
- NVU Optimisti
- NGO Zero Waste Montenegro
- NGO KANA/who if not an architect
- CEE Bankwatch Network
- NGO Center for New Initiatives
- Fidelity Consulting
- NGO MANS
- NVO Ecotim
- NGO Equitas
- NGO Coalition for Sustainable Development
- NGO Montenegrin Society of Ecologists
- NGO Action for Social Justice
- NGO Ozone
- NVO UNKAZANO Bar
- NGO Theater “Čedo Dragović”
- FK SLOGA, Stari Bar
- NGO INFO SPORT CG, Bar
- SKI Klub BAR - Bar
- NGO Theatre Play, Bar
- NVO Zupci Bar
- Attorneys Vesna Čejović, MA and
- Sonja Čejović, MA, on her own behalf and as representatives of several hundred citizens of Bar in public addresses and the procedure of opposition to the planning of the construction of an LNG terminal and a gas-fired power plant in Bar
- Miloš Šušter, B.A. economist, former President of the Executive Board of the Bar Municipal Council during the reconstruction and construction of Bar after the catastrophic earthquake
- Zoran Vojvodić, NGO Open Society Club Bar
- KUD Jedinstvo Bar
- Dr. Ivan Pekić, Doctor of Security Sciences from Bar
- Dražen Aleksić, graduate economist from Bar
- Prof. Nedeljko Djurović from Bar
- Pilog Nikola Pavlićević from Bar
- Lawyer Vladimir Milošević from Bar
- Dragoslav Bojović, the single largest owner of the company “Energoprojekt” Belgrade
- SUBNOR and Antifascists of Montenegro
- Zoran Marka Rašović, mechanical engineer
- Željko Ivanović, member of the team for the preparation of the Spatial Plan of Montenegro
- Sreten Vujović, academician of DANU, translator, president of PEN Montenegro
- Prof. Ilija Vukotić from Bar
- Dušan Raičević, citizen of Bar
- Prof. Sinan Duraković from Bar
Support against the construction of the gas power plant and LNG terminal has also been announced by other NGOs, the Bar Municipal Assembly, intellectuals, activists and citizens, the letter states.
Bonus video:
