Gas
The EU needs to fully unlock the potential of natural gas to deliver its Green Deal
Nord Stream 2 will contribute to achieving the EU's ambitious, climate-friendly energy transition while safeguarding competitiveness, affordability and prosperity for European households and businesses.
Germany’s steel industry not changing practices despite pressure to go green
Germany's energy-intensive steel industry needs to reinvent itself so that it can meet European climate targets and remain competitive. However, there is still a long road to go before the sector goes green. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Will Germany block EIB plans to ditch natural gas?
The European Investment Bank wants to purge its loan books of fossil fuels, including natural gas, by 2020. Although the Bank's final decision is expected to be delivered on 15 October, resistance, especially from Germany, is brewing. EURACTIV Germany reports.
US to help secure Baltic energy grid against cyber-attacks
The United States and Baltic states on Sunday (6 October) agreed to beef up cooperation to protect the Baltic energy grid from cyber-attacks as they disconnect from the Russian electricity grid.
Gas expert: ‘IPCC is clear – we don’t have the option of waiting’
Switching from coal to gas in power generation is the single most important action Europe can take to get on the path to net-zero emissions by 2050, argues Simon Blakey, a European gas expert.
No future for gas without greening as soon as possible
In the search for alternatives to fossil fuels, gas as an energy vector has the capacity to play a decisive role. To do this, it is absolutely necessary to green our gas as much as possible, writes Jean-François Carenco.
Future of gas
Last year, the European Commission started working on a new package of legislation for the gas sector. With the "European Green Deal" now coming up, and updated climate targets in the pipeline, the initiative is set to take a new dimension, focusing on decarbonisation strategies for 2030 and 2050.
Calls grow for EU-wide certificates to boost market for ‘green gas’
The market for Guarantees of Origin (GOs) linked to renewable gas is currently in its infancy. But with demand building up, industry figures – and environmentalists – are now calling for existing certification schemes to be harmonised and made mandatory across the European Union.
EU rethinks future gas strategy in light of ‘European Green Deal’
Many in the European Commission were taken by surprise when their incoming president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced bold new climate objectives for 2030 and 2050, sending officials working on a draft gas package of legislation back to the drawing board.
Europeans confront biomethane cost reduction challenge
Biomethane production costs are expected to fall in the coming decade as more biogas plants come on stream. But analysts warn that massive cost reductions like in the solar and wind power sector are unlikely and policy measures will be needed to prop up this fledgeling renewable energy industry.
Academic: Higher carbon price needed to ramp up EU biomethane production
The price of CO2 credits on Europe’s emissions trading scheme needs to rise to around €50 per tonne in order to drive the long-term development of Europe’s biomethane industry, says Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, a French researcher.
The future of biogas in Europe: it’s a local affair
The prospects for biogas in Europe look bright, with conservative estimates pointing to a tenfold increase in production by 2030. However, the industry will need to stay rooted in the local economy and come clean on environmental credentials if it wants to avoid a green backlash, analysts say.
Biogas in the EU
Biogas production remains tiny at the moment in Europe, but the industry has big plans for the future, provided costs can be lowered and environmental issues addressed. In this special report, EURACTIV looks into the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.
A Green Deal for Europe will fail unless it confronts natural gas
The European Commission's upcoming Green Deal should put an economy-wide target for net-zero emissions by 2050 into law, as well as provide a clear decarbonisation trajectory for the gas sector in line with the Paris Agreement, write Jonathan Gaventa and Lisa Fischer.
Nord Stream 2 seeks arbitration in dispute with EU Commission
The Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline consortium filed a notice on Thursday (26 September), asking a tribunal of private arbiters to determine whether the European Union is in breach of its obligations under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
EIB begins metamorphosis into climate bank
European Investment Bank (EIB) directors will begin discussing on Tuesday (10 September) an updated lending policy which could see the EU bank stop funding fossil fuel projects. But some member states and even the European Commission might push for a more reserved approach.
Turkmenistan should promote the Trans-Caspian Pipeline more actively
Iran and Russia are opposing the implementation of the Trans-Caspian project, which is supported by Azerbaijan and is in the EU’s interest, writes Shahnar Hajiev.
Zelenskiy slams Nord Stream 2 as Ukraine seeks LNG gas from the US
Ukraine's president on Saturday (31 August) slammed the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline set to send Russian gas to Germany as a "threat" to Europe and welcomed moves by Kyiv to tap into US gas supplies.
Ahead of heating season, EU gas tanks are full
With gas prices at a ten-year low, storage tanks are far fuller than average for this time of year. This may have political implications as lawmakers think about security of supply.
Erdogan says Turkey to press ahead with gas search off Cyprus
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday (22 August) hit out at EU measures to punish Ankara for drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean and vowed to press ahead with gas search in the region.
US-Russia rivalry in the Middle East is now spilling over into the Mediterranean Sea
Most oil and gas experts agree that the East Med Pipeline Project is a pipe dream that cannot compete with cheap Russian gas. But America’s enthusiastic support for it is more about a re-alignment of alliances, and securing energy supply, writes Nour Samaha.
How do Power-to-X technologies work?
P2X, P2Y, PtG, PtL, power-to-gas... These somewhat cryptic terms stand for energy conversion processes that can be used to store surplus power from renewable sources and help meet climate targets. But whether they will actually reduce emissions depends on many different factors, EURACTIV Germany reports.
Russia says second leg of Turkish Stream will go via Bulgaria, not Greece
The second leg of the Turkish Stream pipeline will go through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday (26 July).