{"id":7210,"date":"2021-06-17T10:02:58","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T10:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/?p=7210"},"modified":"2021-09-23T12:25:13","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T12:25:13","slug":"europe-dont-fall-into-the-gas-trap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/europe-dont-fall-into-the-gas-trap\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe \u2013 Don\u2019t fall into the (gas) trap!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lire cet article en fran\u00e7ais<\/a> <\/em>I Diesen Artikel auf Deutsch lesen<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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17.06.2021<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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An opinion by Marie Toussaint<\/a>, Jutta Paulus<\/a> and Ciar\u00e1n Cuffe, <\/a>Greens\/EFA MEPs<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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European institutions are discussing the future of Europe\u2019s energy. Current rules pre-date the Paris Agreement and the Green Deal, making it impossible to achieve carbon neutrality objectives by 2050. This revision will decide how fossil fuels are financed and consequently, the place given to renewable energy in Europe. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Power
Power plant\/ CC0 patrick-hendry<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Crucial discussions are happening now for Europe\u2019s energy future<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Member States, the European\nCommission<\/a> and the European\nParliament<\/a> are debating the EU’s energy infrastructure regulation, or TEN-E<\/a>,\nto align it with European climate objectives. The current regulation, adopted\nin 2013 – before the Paris\nAgreement<\/a> and the Green\nDeal<\/a> debates – makes it impossible to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050:\nsince its adoption, the TEN-E regulation has granted “project of common\ninterest” status to 266 fossil gas projects and facilitated nearly \u20ac5\nbillion in taxpayer-subsidized grants and loans for 41 fossil gas\ninfrastructure projects.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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What is at stake with this revision of the regulation is therefore the\nplace of fossil gas in European financing, and consequently the place given to\nrenewable energy. For the Greens\/EFA group, 3 MEPs are involved on this\nimportant file: Marie Toussaint<\/a>,\nshadow rapporteur for the European Parliament’s Energy Committee (the lead\ncommittee on TEN-E) and rapporteur for the Environment Committee opinion, Ciar\u00e1n Cuffe<\/a>, shadow for the\nCommittee on Regional Development opinion and Jutta Paulus<\/a>, shadow for the\nTransport Committee opinion. For us, the objective is clear: to get gas out of\nthe regulation so that public funds can be redirected towards energy efficiency\nand the development of renewable energies.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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What\u2019s happening in the Council?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Member States were clearly divided in two camps, between pro-gas and\nanti-gas, including 11 progressive States<\/a>. But on Friday, June 11, 2021, the Council adopted a disappointing\nposition, officially halting the financing of gas projects with public funds,\nbut still agreeing to fund the modernization of pipelines, and\n“blending”, the mixture of fossil gas and hydrogen. Although\npresented as a “transition” measure, this proposal will result in\ncontinued investment in fossil gas infrastructure. Indeed, if hydrogen has a\nmajor role to play in the transition, we must consider the fact that only a\nmarginal amount of the hydrogen produced in Europe today comes from renewable\nenergy, the rest being highly dependent on fossil and\/or fissile energy\nsources. Moreover, for technical reasons, less than 10% of hydrogen can be\ninjected into a ‘classic’ gas pipeline, the rest will necessarily be fossil\ngas. Accepting “blending” therefore means persisting in our\ndependence on fossil gas and deviating from our trajectory towards carbon\nneutrality.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The Council’s position condemns Europe to continue to depend on fossil\nfuels and to miss its climate objectives<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Wind
Wind farm \/ CC0 tyler-casey<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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What does the European Commission’s say?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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According to the Commission, the proposed revision to the TEN-E, published in December 2019, would exclude new fossil gas pipeline projects from eligibility for European funding. But subtle arrangements allow to continue the financing of gas infrastructures with European public money: for example, smart gas networks and the inclusion of hydrogen… Moreover, the proposal introduces other categories, such as the bewildering CO2 transport (part of the CO2 capture and storage process) projects which could also be eligible for these public funds.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Child
Child holding a balloon during a climate march\/ CC0 Mika Baumeister<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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All is not lost<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Before the “trialogue” between the 3 institutions, the\nEuropean Parliament must also propose its position on the text. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The Greens\/EFA group is fighting for a regulation that really excludes\ngas.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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