Future of gas Archives

EU methane legislation is not just a nice-to-have. Europe cannot meet its 2030 and 2050 targets, nor ensure the success of the Paris Agreement without it, writes Poppy Kelesi.

Production of biogas, biomethane and “green” hydrogen will have to skyrocket by at least 1,000% over the next three decades in order to reach the EU’s climate neutrality objective for 2050, an EU official has said.

While visiting Paris, American economist Jeremy Rifkin talked to EURACTIV France about his hopes for the new European Commission's Green Deal, while calling for a climate narrative that inspires real change across society.

The European Commission is working on a first-ever methane strategy that could play a “very significant role” in enabling the EU increase its climate ambitions for 2030, EU officials have said.

The European Commission has attempted to define “transition” and “enabling” economic activities on the way to net-zero emissions as part of efforts to reach compromise on a draft EU green finance taxonomy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (20 November) rubbished European calls to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, saying that such ideas could lead to humans living in caves again.

To understand its full methane emission footprint and its impact on the climate, Europe needs to assess oil and gas imports from countries such as Algeria, Russia and Qatar, for which no data is available yet, says Stefan Schwietzke.

Under a scenario in which the EU meets its Paris Agreement climate targets, gas will be a transition fuel and offshore wind will dominate by 2050, according to a World Energy Outlook forecast from the International Energy Agency.

Incoming Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's pledge to turn Europe into "the world's first climate-neutral continent" means efforts to green the economy are set to go into overdrive. But where will the necessary funds come from to back the …

France's gas network could be adapted to pipe a mix of natural gas with 20% hydrogen from 2030 onwards, as part of efforts to cut carbon emissions, operators said on Friday (15 November).

The European Investment Bank (EIB) decided on Thursday (14 November) to end financial support for fossil fuels from 2021, after marathon talks ended in a compromise that has been hailed as “a significant victory” for green policies.

Germany is preparing to abstain from a vote on the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) future energy lending policy on Thursday (14 November). Internal government disputes continue to scuttle attempts to form a common position on scrapping fossil fuel funding.

The European Investment Bank will decide on Thursday (14 November) whether or not to purge its loan books of fossil fuel projects. All signs point to the EU lender striking a compromise with Germany and Italy which want more leeway for new gas projects.

Europe has to get serious about the hydrogen economy if it really wants to reach net-zero emissions as quickly as possible, says Nils Anders Røkke. This is why decarbonised natural gas, using carbon capture and storage (CCS), will be crucial to ramp up hydrogen production in the short term, he argues.

The German government should support the establishment of an EU-wide framework for green hydrogen to keep electrolysis manufacturing competitive, write Matthias Deutsch and Andreas Graf. Matthias Deutsch is a senior associate at Agora Energiewende, a German think …

The EU says it wants to get out of fossil fuels and become climate neutral as soon as possible. But the European Commission's latest list of energy projects eligible for EU funding nevertheless includes 32 gas projects, including the construction of new LNG terminals, EURACTIV Germany reports.

Gas power plants in Spain are running below 25% capacity, according to an investigation published in the Spanish media yesterday (23 October), sparking calls from environmentalists to stop funding the country’s “oversized” gas infrastructure.

Industry executives argue fossil gas should be considered green when it displaces coal in power generation, sparking fresh controversy around an upcoming EU sustainable finance taxonomy aimed at rewarding investments in clean technologies.

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.

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.

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.

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.