Energy Transition in Europe | www.energy-cities.eu

European Commission accused of acting unlawfully in two separate cases bought by environment groups

At the last scheduled meeting of European commissioners before the summer recess on Wednesday, Brussels technocrats will attempt their most far-reaching power grab yet seen in 2022: the right to impose mandatory gas rationing on the bloc's 27 member countries.

As citizens from Portugal to Poland swelter and perish in record-breaking heat, their governments are being asked to sign over their right to energy sovereignty in six days. The measures are being rushed through using emergency protocols, which mean no country will be able to veto the plan and the European Parliament will have no say.

The European Commission is revising the economic assumptions behind its energy and climate laws package presented last year, saying sky-high gas prices fuelled by the war in Ukraine have strengthened the case for more ambitious energy efficiency goals.

Experts advising on the European Union's sustainable finance taxonomy are concerned a draft plan to include gas and nuclear relies too heavily on promises to make those fuels green in future, rather than assessing their real impact today.

Après des mois d’hésitation, la Commission européenne a enfin présenté un projet de labellisation des investissements nécessaires à la transition écologique. L’exercice est périlleux, car il n’existe pas de consensus au sein des Etats membres de l’Union européenne sur les moyens de parvenir en 2050 à la neutralité carbone, l’objectif que se sont fixé les Vingt-Sept dans le cadre de l’accord de Paris sur le climat. Pour contourner l’obstacle, Bruxelles fait preuve de pragmatisme afin que chaque pays puisse tenir cet agenda en fonction de ses propres choix énergétiques.

Gas network operators from 11 countries have joined the European hydrogen backbone initiative, presenting an updated vision for a pure hydrogen network of nearly 40,000 kilometres by 2040.

The European Commission is reconsidering the position of gas in its sustainable finance taxonomy by recognising the fossil fuel’s role in keeping the lights on during peak electricity demand, according to a leaked document seen by EURACTIV.

More than 650 households and commercial properties in a village near Gateshead in the north of England will trial the use of blended green hydrogen to be used for heating, reports EURACTIV's media partner, edie.net.

The Covid-19 pandemic is making us rethink how to build resilient economies across the world. Questions over economic growth, access to energy and energy security and climate resilience are key metrics for public finance institutions investing in the Global South. Gas infrastructure has become symptomatic of the complexity of investing in a resilient and fair future.

European Union countries agreed on Wednesday (24 June) that the bloc's flagship fund to wean regions off fossil fuels should not finance nuclear or natural gas projects, despite calls from some Eastern countries for gas to be eligible for EU funding.

Eight EU countries have advocated the use of natural gas and support for investment in natural gas as part of the energy transition to lead Europe to carbon neutrality by 2050, according to Belga Pres

The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIV’s media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

Before you start reading today’s edition of the Capitals, feel free to have a look at the “Europe risks losing strategic clout in Western Balkans” op-ed written by ten former ministers of foreign affairs and was exclusively published in Brussels by EURACTIV.com. Also, feel free to have a look at “Europeans ‘extremely concerned’ after nuclear watchdog confirms Iranian breach“.

Brussels doesn’t have the votes to pass sweeping emergency powers. A group of European Union countries mainly from the south has already shot down Brussels' bid to grant itself the power to ration gas around the bloc less than 24 hours after the debut of the proposal Wednesday. 

Zurich is shutting down its natural gas network in whole sections of the city to fight climate change - and save money.

Switzerland’s biggest city started the plan a decade ago as part of its environmental strategy. Residents are being encouraged to install alternatives to natural gas heating and, where this is already taking off, Zurich’s city-owned utility company is now shutting down gas supply networks.

The group of experts advising the European Commission on green finance has criticised plans by Brussels to label gas and nuclear power as a “transitional” source of energy under the EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy.

The European Commission said on Monday (10 January) it has delayed to later this month the deadline for experts to give feedback on divisive plans to allow some natural gas and nuclear energy projects to be labelled as sustainable investments.

The Commission drafted a plan late last year to add some gas and nuclear investments to the European Union’s “taxonomy,” its rule book to define which investments can be labelled as climate-friendly in the EU.

The energy crisis will be painful for many Europeans and emergency measures are needed to ensure gas keeps flowing to keep people warm for the next few months. But the EU must also recognise that this is good money thrown after bad.

Gas is not reliable now, cannot be relied on in the future if we are to tackle the climate emergency, and we must abandon it as rapidly as possible.

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.

Only last year, The European Commission was looking at natural gas as a bridge to renewable energy. Climate Chief Frans Timmermans said, “There’s one thing I have to acknowledge: in some areas of transition, the use of natural gas will probably be necessary to shift from coal to sustainable energy.” But the thinking is changing. Now Dr. Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank, says : “To put it mildly, gas is over. This is a serious departure from the past, but without the end to the use of unabated fossil fuels, we will not be able to reach the climate targets.”

The European Union's flagship fund to wean regions off fossil fuels will not finance natural gas projects, EU governments said on Wednesday (16 December), ending a debate over whether to make the fuel eligible for support.

For the European Union (EU) to be climate neutral by 2050, gas networks will have to be gradually adapted to carry green gases such as biomethane and hydrogen. 23 national regulatory authorities (NRAs) have looked into the current possibilities for admixing hydrogen and injecting biomethane or transporting pure hydrogen via existing gas networks, as well as network adaptations to allow this in the future and reported via a survey to the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).
The results show that 65% of the responding NRAs reported that the transmission system operators (TSOs) do not accept the injection or allow hydrogen volumes into the gas transmission network yet.

Coal and gas-fired power plants would have to shut down 10 to 30 years sooner than their usual 35 to 40-year lifespan so that climate targets can be met, a study reveals. EURACTIV's partner le Journal de l'environnement reports.