Future of gas
Gas infrastructure across Europe leaking planet-warming methane: report
The potent greenhouse gas methane is spewing out of natural gas infrastructure across the European Union because of leaks and venting, according to video footage made available to Reuters.
France fails to adopt clear position on future gas funding
As EU energy ministers agreed last week to phase out gas-hydrogen blending projects, France did not adopt a clear position on the matter even if this means prolonging the bloc’s reliance on fossil fuels. EURACTIV France reports.
Infrastructure dispute reveals deep divisions in Europe over gas
The EU's 27 energy ministers on Friday (11 June) came to an uneasy compromise on the revision of EU rules covering investments in cross-border energy infrastructure, the so-called TEN-E regulation. The fraught debate sets an unwelcome precedent for future debates over gas.
EU countries agree to prolong funding for selected gas projects, with caveats
European Union energy ministers on Friday (11 June) agreed to prolong EU support for some cross-border natural gas projects, despite a push from 11 countries and the European Commission who said such funding should end to comply with climate change goals.
Germany says Ukraine must remain gas transit country after new pipeline
Germany said Ukraine should remain a transit country for Russian gas, the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper reported, after President Vladimir Putin said it would depend on the former Soviet republic showing "goodwill" towards Moscow.
Eleven EU countries hold firm in rejecting prolonged funding for gas projects
Eleven countries, including Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, were set to reject a plan to prolong EU support for cross-border natural gas projects, and instead push for rules to exclude fossil fuels, according to a document seen by Reuters.
Rugby, and the art of regulating energy in times of uncertainty
A recent decision by the Belgian energy regulator offers an unexpected analogy with the way rugby rules were rewritten to favour try scoring and greater entertainment for the fans, write Dominic Scott and Bram Claeys.
GE eyes 100% hydrogen-fuelled power plants by 2030
While fossil gas is often seen as a transition fuel towards a fully decarbonised energy mix, GE Gas Power sees low-carbon gas as “a destination technology” with a potential to convert power plants to run 100% on clean hydrogen by 2030.
Natural gas bashing is trendy, but is it constructive?
Surely, natural gas, too, will have to be phased out over time, so why not skip this phase and move straight to wind and solar? The idea sounds enticing, but upon closer examination, it is counterproductive if not self-defeating, argues Olga Bielkova.
Using hydrogen fuel risks locking in reliance on fossil fuels, researchers warn
Using hydrogen-based fuels for cars and home heating risks locking in a dependency on fossil fuels and failing to tackle the climate crisis, according to a new analysis. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.
UN methane report ups pressure on EU to tackle the planet-warming gas
The world must urgently cut its emissions of methane to rein in climate change, a UN report said Thursday (6 May) raising pressure on European Union policymakers who are drafting the bloc's first methane regulations targeting fossil fuels.
Eleven EU countries call to ban fossil fuels from trans-European energy infrastructure
Eleven EU countries have signed a declaration calling on the European Union to stop funding fossil fuels under its trans-European energy infrastructure regulation (TEN-E), which is currently under revision.
Mainstream parties block ECR resolution to force vote on Nord Stream 2
An attempt by right-wing Polish MEPs to force a plenary vote on the controversial gas pipeline between Russia and Germany was blocked for a second time by the two largest groups in the European Parliament on Thursday (29 April), Parliament...
Urgent methane cuts needed to rein in climate change, UN says
Deep cuts in methane emissions, including from the fossil fuel industry, are urgently needed to slow the rate of global warming and keep it beneath a threshold agreed by world leaders, according to a UN report due to be released next week.
MEP Canfin: The French hard line on nuclear is a dead end
The hard line defended by France over the inclusion of nuclear power in the green finance taxonomy is a dead end because there is no majority in favour of it at the EU level, warns lawmaker Pascal Canfin. Instead, the French MEP argues for including nuclear energy in the 'transition' category.
Europe risks €87 billion in stranded fossil gas assets, report reveals
Europe is already building or planning to build €87 billion worth of fossil gas infrastructure in a continued expansion of pipelines and LNG terminals, despite the need to halve its emissions by 2030, according to a new report published on Thursday (8 April).
Don’t weaken sustainability criteria for green hydrogen, renewable groups tell Commission
Europe should support high sustainability standards for clean hydrogen in its green finance rules, argue a group of 24 renewable energy companies and industry bodies in a letter sent to the European Commission on Wednesday (31 March).
EU urged to keep ‘low-carbon fuels’ out of renewable energy mix
A group of 88 lawmakers in the European Parliament have joined environmental NGOs and the renewable energy industry to demand the exclusion of low-carbon fossil fuels from the upcoming revision of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.
Investors renew push for EU methane emissions standard on gas
A group representing European investors managing €36 trillion in assets renewed pressure on the European Commission to introduce mandatory methane emissions standards for natural gas, according to a letter dated 31 March.
Fossil fuel shares drop in value compared with clean energy, think tank says
The value of share offerings in fossil fuel companies has dropped by almost 20% since 2012, while low-carbon companies gained ground in a shift towards clean energy, a report by think-tank Carbon Tracker showed on Wednesday (31 March).
Fossil gas ‘has no viable future’, EU’s Timmermans says
Europe has set a clear goal for full decarbonisation by 2050, with renewables-based electricity set to become the dominant energy carrier, and that means fossil gas will have “only a marginal role” in the long run, EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said on Thursday (25 March).
Czechs lead the charge against EU’s ‘do no harm’ green criteria
The environment ministers of Poland, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic have criticised the constraints imposed by the "do no significant harm" principle when it comes to EU funding. Others like Denmark, meanwhile, defend strict limits on fossil fuel spending in the EU's recovery plan.
EU to offer gas plants a green finance label, under certain conditions
The European Union plans to label some gas power plants as sustainable investments, after an initial proposal to deny them a green label faced a backlash from a group of 10 EU member states.