Future of gas Archives

MEPs should uphold the Green Deal and vote against subsidising gas in the upcoming Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs vote, writes Jeremy Wates and Magda Stoczkiewicz.

30% of the EU's €1.8 trillion budget and recovery plan for 2021-2027 will be made available for the green transition. That amount is no longer up for negotiation and the focus must now shift to spending it well, said Kadri Simson, the EU's energy commissioner.

Power plants fuelled by natural gas will not be classed as a sustainable investment in Europe, unless they meet an emissions limit that none currently comply with, according to draft European Union regulations seen by Reuters.

A bilateral agreement aimed at increasing German imports of hydrogen produced from solar power plants in Australia could set a milestone in efforts to establish a global hydrogen market.

Turkey has extended the seismic survey work of its Oruc Reis ship in a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean until November 4 – a move that Greece condemned on Sunday (25 October) as "illegal".

The discovery in recent years of huge natural gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has whetted the appetite of nearby countries but exacerbated geopolitical tensions between Turkey and its neighbours.

The European Commission has opted for a “holistic” approach to address the global warming impact of methane, putting the emphasis on international cooperation first before regulating emissions in sectors like energy and agriculture.

A draft version of the European Commission’s methane strategy, expected to come out on Wednesday (14 October), doesn't set limits on methane emissions from fossil fuels, instead setting the stage for that to happen as of 2025.

While natural gas pipelines can be used to carry hydrogen, the cost of retrofitting infrastructure combined with end-user requirements at the local level, will determine whether blended or pure hydrogen is delivered to the final consumer, industry experts say.

Spain approved on Tuesday (6 October) a plan to boost clean hydrogen production, aiming to build enough infrastructure to give it a major role in Europe's market for a fuel seen as key to meeting international carbon emissions targets.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her economy minister on Tuesday (8 September) played down the possibility of halting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany as part of any sanctions imposed on Moscow due to the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will not rule out consequences for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project if Russia fails to thoroughly investigate opposition leader Alexei Navalny's poisoning, her spokesman said Monday (7 September).

The gas and nuclear industries have ramped up lobbying to secure last-ditch changes to European rules defining which investments are sustainable, fearing that exclusion from a new “green” list could deprive them of billions of dollars of funding.

The European Commission on Wednesday (8 July) unveiled its “energy system integration strategy” which aims to link different energy carriers, infrastructure and consumption sectors together in order to boost renewables and reduce carbon emissions.

Global natural gas capacity under construction has doubled in a year according to new analysis that warned Tuesday (7 July) the investment boom in the world's fastest-growing fuel risks a "perfect storm" of climate chaos and stranded assets.

Efficiency must be at the core of Europe’s energy policy, the European Commission says in a draft policy document outlining its vision of a more agile, low-carbon energy system powered chiefly by renewable electricity.

The European Commission will seek to position Europe as a global leader on hydrogen with a new industry-led alliance set to be unveiled on Wednesday (8 July).

The European Parliament's Regional Affairs Committee will vote Monday (6 July) on the EU's proposed €40 billion Just Transition Fund, which aims to support the bloc's 108 coal-producing regions in their transition to a low-carbon economy. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Whether in the European recovery plan or the just transition fund, Pascal Canfin says he is in favour of applying the EU sustainable finance taxonomy, which allows drawing a line between gas projects that merit public funding and those that don’t.

The European Commission aims to promote so-called “green” hydrogen produced from renewable electricity over the “grey” sort obtained from natural gas steam reforming, according to a leaked policy document obtained by EURACTIV.

The European Commission will come out with a big push for hydrogen early next month, but there are concerns about whether existing infrastructure can meet the demand.

The European oil refining industry association, whose members includes Shell, BP, ExxonMobil and Total, outlined on Monday (15 June) a €650 billion plan to completely decarbonise transport fuels by 2050.

The German government has found the right premises for its hydrogen strategy by recognising that only green hydrogen supply, made from renewable energies, is sustainable, writes Felix Heilmann. But there are also shortcomings, he says.

Business in oil, gas and coal is becoming increasingly unprofitable as global fossil reserves could lose around two-thirds of their value in the next 50 years, plummeting from around $39 trillion to $14 trillion, according to a study published on Thursday (4 May) by British think tank Carbon Tracker. EURACTIV Germany reports.