The EU considers gas to be a green fuel. Experts: Loss of credibility, missed opportunity, gift for Putin

On Wednesday, Brussels officially presented the draft legislation on taxonomy, i.e. the principles of financing sustainable development.

The taxonomy tells – in simplified terms – what projects will be considered “green” and will be able to receive EU funding as part of efforts to stop climate change. In a preliminary proposal from December, it was proposed that nuclear power plants and gas should also be considered such energy sources. Both have supporters, but also staunch opponents. The final proposal of the European Commission was presented on Wednesday. Both the gas and the atom remained in it, and the restrictions on the impact on the environment were further loosened.

Gas and atom in the EU taxonomy

The recognition of gas as a green fuel has been severely criticized by various groups of experts, activists, business and scientists. Even the Platform on Sustainable Finance – which the Commission had set up – warned that gas-fired power plants could not be considered a “green” and “transition solution” due to their work-related greenhouse gas emissions. The combustion of gas itself is presented as a better alternative to coal, as direct CO2 emissions are lower. However, in the entire process – extraction, transport, storage – some gas is released. Its main component is methane – a greenhouse gas several dozen times stronger than carbon dioxide.

Among the countries that have long lobbied for the recognition of gas as a green fuel, there were, inter alia, Poland. The government has long said that it is unable to move quickly from coal to renewable energies and has therefore sought to include gas and atom in the taxonomy. The plans of the authorities include huge investments in gas-fired power plants and the necessary infrastructure.

Lost chance and dependence on Putin

Zofia Wetmańska, taxonomy analyst at the Climate Bonds Initiative, assessed that the inclusion of gas in the proposal “runs counter to the EU’s initial goals, according to which the Taxonomy was to be the ‘gold standard’ for sustainable investments.” – Instead of reducing the EU’s dependence on fossil fuels, the provisions of the Taxonomy may expose investors to investments in stranded assets, while hindering the development of low-carbon alternatives – she assessed.

The criteria contained in the document are, in her opinion, a departure from relying on scientific grounds in creating such proposals. In addition – due to the current position of the EU as a leader in sustainable finance – these provisions “may have negative effects on a global scale”. “We may have a domino effect that will make it difficult to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement,” she said.

Laurence Tubiana, one of the architects of the Paris Agreement and head of the European Climate Foundation, accuses the EU of “moving away from science-based politics” in favor of politicking. She wrote that the taxonomy is a “missed opportunity” and that the recognition of gas as a green fuel “puts the bar down low and creates a risk of greenwashing in the financial system.”

In her opinion, “reasonable” investors will ignore the taxonomy guidelines if it “becomes a political tool of interest groups.” She also encouraged other EU institutions to object.

“What was supposed to be science-based politics has become confused with politicking, with several governments and gas lobbies forcing the Commission to do so. This proposal undermines the credibility of the European Union internationally, as people can no longer believe that ‘green’ means free from greenhouse gas emissions “- she said.

William Todts from Transport & Environment that the recognition of gas as a “green fuel” is a gift for Vladimir Putin. Currently 41 percent. gas imports to the European Union come from Russia. On the one hand, this supports authoritarian authorities with cash, and on the other, makes the EU open to political, economic and even military threats from the Kremlin. An example of this can be seen right now, during the energy crisis – when Russia

Record gas prices, gas supply cuts by Gazprom, threat of war on our borders. You might think that EU policymakers would try to create a contingency plan to make the EU independent of (Russian) gas as soon as possible. No. On the contrary

– wrote Todts. Gas has entered the taxonomy “after months of intense lobbying”, he said, and “billions in renewable energy and efficiency can now be shifted to fossil gas-fired power plants or heating plants.” He described the conditions contained in the document as “poor and difficult to enforce conditions”. The current shape of the detailed provisions may, inter alia, create a gap that will allow more greenhouse gases to be emitted if the design expects them to fall further in the future.

Is such a scenario a doomed? A few more steps before the final takeover of the taxonomy. Now the project will be discussed by the Member States and the European Parliament. France, which is in charge of the work of the European Union in this six-month period, is committed to quick approval.

There is a group of opponents in the Commonwealth. Austria, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands are against qualifying gas projects as green investments, and Luxembourg does not want to agree to nuclear power. However, a large group of states is needed to veto the proposal, which is not going to happen at the moment. It is less certain whether it will not be vetoed by the parliament, which is usually more ambitious than the European Commission in terms of climate policy.