Close Menu
    Latest Category
    • Finance
    • Tech
    • EU Law
    • Energy
    • About
    • Contact
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Login
    • EU News
    • Focus
    • Guides
    • Press
    • Jobs
    • Events
    • Directory
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Home » Renewable gas lobby exposed as misleading ahead of EU 2050 Climate Strategy

    Renewable gas lobby exposed as misleading ahead of EU 2050 Climate Strategy

    npsBy nps21 November 2018Updated:28 June 2024 No Comments3 Mins Read
    — Filed under: Focus
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    — last modified 21 November 2018

    Ahead of the European Commission announcing its ‘2050 Climate Strategy’ for complying with the targets set out in the Paris Agreement, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) today released a two-part briefing (Part I, Part II) on the gas industry’s attempts to promote so-called ‘renewable gas’ in the EU strategy.


    Advertisement


    Although ‘renewable’ and ‘low carbon’ gases are currently hyped as a way to make the gas industry ‘Paris compliant’ by 2050, these gases are in fact neither green nor sustainable.

    Part one of CEO’s new briefing dispels the misleading industry claims which are proving to be a dangerous distraction from effective climate action and risk to lock the EU into extended fossil-fuel dependency.

    The second part of the briefing exposes some of the central lobbying tactics and aims of the gas industry, which is trying to influence decision-makers at the EU level and in member states. Among the gas lobby’s activities are the active discouragement of support for renewable electricity in favour of ‘renewable’ gas, organising field trips for DG Energy Directors, hiring respected environmental consultants to lead lobbying efforts, buying media coverage in the Brussels bubble, and the co-optation of parts of the EU NGO sphere.

    Influential ‘renewable’ gas lobbies featured in the report include Brussels-based trade associations Eurogas, GasNaturally, Hydrogen Europe and the European Biogas Association. A special focus is on key player the Gas for Climate Coalition, co-ordinated by Dutch environmental consultancy Ecofys and comprised of seven European gas pipeline builders and operators (Fluxys (BE), Gasunie (NL), Open Grid Europe (DE), Teréga and GRTgaz (FR), Enagás (ES) and Snam (IT)), as well as the European Biogas Association and the Italian Biogas Confederation.

    In its briefings, Corporate Europe Observatory also traces national level developments in France, the Netherlands, UK, Germany and
    Austria and publishes evidence of the European Commission directly approaching the gas industry to encourage a turn to ‘renewable gas’ – an early and devastating indication of the Commission’s internal bias and its willingness to assign a key role in its 2050 Climate strategy to the gas industry.

    Corporate Europe Observatory’s Pascoe Sabido said:

    “The gas industry’s support for so-called renewable gas is a thinly-veiled attempt to keep fossil fuels at the heart of the EU’s expected 2050 climate strategy. Although their claims have been exposed as misleading, a combination of industry lobbying and the EU Commission’s clear pro-gas bias means the strategy is unlikely to live up to commitments under the Paris Agreement.

    “Rather than fall for the dangerous distraction of renewable gas, the EU should be planning how to wind down the gas industry. But as long as its lobbyists have such a strong grip over policy-making, forward-thinking ideas remain impossible. We need a firewall that protects EU and national level decision-makers from gas industry lobbyists if we are serious about tackling the climate crisis.”

    Corporate Europe Observatory

    Add A Comment
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    nps
    • Website

    Related Content

    Euro - ECB-Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

    Poor GDP performance marks end of tough week for the Pound – Euro currency news daily

    Ukraine Recovery Conference - Photo © European Union 2025

    EU announces EUR 2.3 billion package for Ukraine recovery

    Ecommerce - Photo by AS Photography on Pexels

    Euro-Parliament moves to stop sub-standard products from outside EU

    Deforestation - Image by Robert Jones from Pixabay

    EUDR saga: Parliament votes to undermine enforcement and EU credibility

    Sponsor: WWF European Policy Office9 July 2025
    EuroCommerce

    EU Stockpiling Strategy: Retail and wholesale essential partners in EU crisis resilience

    Sponsor: EuroCommerce9 July 2025
    Medical supplies - Image by Ahmad Ardity from Pixabay

    EU strengthens crisis readiness with stockpiling and medical countermeasures strategies

    LATEST EU NEWS
    Euro - ECB-Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

    Poor GDP performance marks end of tough week for the Pound – Euro currency news daily

    11 July 2025
    Ukraine Recovery Conference - Photo © European Union 2025

    EU announces EUR 2.3 billion package for Ukraine recovery

    10 July 2025
    Ecommerce - Photo by AS Photography on Pexels

    Euro-Parliament moves to stop sub-standard products from outside EU

    10 July 2025
    Medical supplies - Image by Ahmad Ardity from Pixabay

    EU strengthens crisis readiness with stockpiling and medical countermeasures strategies

    9 July 2025
    Chemical production nature clouds - Image by andreas N from Pixabay

    EU to set up Critical Chemical Alliance

    8 July 2025

    Subscribe to EUbusiness Week

    Get the latest EU news

    CONTACT INFO

    • EUbusiness Ltd 117 High Street, Chesham Buckinghamshire, HP5 1DE United Kingdom
    • +44(0)20 8058 8232
    • service@eubusiness.com

    INFORMATION

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Info

    Services

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • EU News

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    Facebook
    eubusiness.com © EUbusiness Ltd 2025

    Design and developed by : 

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Sign In or Register

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below.

    Lost password?