Because Germany and 10 other countries want to cut money on trans-European gas pipelines
The in-depth study by Enrico Martial
Eleven member countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, request that gas pipelines in the TEN-E cross-border networks no longer be financed as part of projects of common interest (PCI), which allow accelerated procedures and access to European funds dedicated. It is an interesting position, which concerns a gigantic game and which is part of the role assigned to gas in the Green Deal and in the fight against climate change not only of the European Union, but also of the Member States and of the companies themselves. In the 2014-2020 programming, 4 gas corridors and various interconnections were supported, including Greece and Bulgaria, the TAP up to Puglia, between Poland and Slovakia and then towards Denmark, between Hungary, Slovenia and Italy.
Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Ireland, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Netherlands and Sweden, in the "non-paper" position that was released by Reuters on 1 June affirm that aid should also be excluded in the case pipelines carry a mix of gas and hydrogen.
On the other hand, still on April 13, 2021, a European group of gas operators (including SNAM) published a proposal for a strong development of gas pipelines , to be progressively adapted to the transport of hydrogen, in stages until 2040, with investments between 43 and 81 billion euros. Thinking about the growth projections of the hydrogen market, a hope and a reason for survival was given to the pipeline system, compared to the declining scenarios for those who transport fossil fuels in the age of climate change.
To support gas, there was also the argument of energy security, for example between Poland and the Baltic countries, even if in the background there is always the problem of dependence on Russia, which, moreover, is only 100 km away to complete Nord Stream 2. up to Germany. Furthermore, the argument that natural gas, albeit a fossil source, is a "green" tool compared to the more polluting coal, as a transition fuel, has been supported by fierce and motivated lobbies. On 18 December 2020, 10 member countries expressed themselves in this sense, namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
We therefore understand the ongoing conflict with the other 11 member countries led by Germany, in the context of a debate that has lasted at least since 2018 to establish what is "green" and what is not. Although it has passed in relative silence in Italy, the member countries, the Commission and the European Parliament have agreed on a system of priorities (the "Taxonomy" regulation of 22 June 2020), to define which investments are to be recognized as useful in combating climate change, in the circular economy, agriculture, industry, construction, transport. As a result, on 21 April the consequent delegated act was approved which establishes which energy sources can be financed as “green”. Well, after many exercises, threats of resignation by nine experts from the Committee of 67 which helped the Commission to deal with it, it was decided to postpone the discussion on gas in a separate act as had already been established for nuclear power, and therefore in any case to exclude it from green sources.
In the document circulating in March 2020, released by the French newspaper Contexte , different and detailed types of admissibility of gas as a transition tool were hypothesized, for example by calculating when CO2 would be gained in the replacement with respect to coal, or with regard to cogeneration plants .
Even nuclear power (despite the French lobby and some Eastern Member States) will be the subject of a separate delegated document, because if it is true that CO2 emissions are minimal, the waste impacts the principle of "harmlessness" on the other objectives ( "Do not significant harm"), such as on the protection of biodiversity, or of water, or on the pollution and health of ecosystems.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/perche-la-germania-e-altri-10-paesi-vogliono-tagliare-i-soldi-ai-gasdotti-transeuropei/ on Sat, 05 Jun 2021 04:19:51 +0000.