The expansion of gas power plants in five European Union member states (Italy, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania) and in the United Kingdom, which is not an EU member state, is beginning to compromise the EU's climate target commitments, according to a report published on 15 November by the non-governmental organisation Beyond Fossil Fuels .
The report concludes that the expansion of EU gas power plants will increase gas power plant capacity by 80 GW, which is 32% more than actual global capacity. This conflicts with the European Union's climate targets.
"We did not enter the digital age by buying typewriters en masse, and we will not build a clean energy system by constructing so many new gas power plants," says Alexandru Mustață, a campaigner at Beyond Fossil Fuels.
Italy and Germany are the largest gas producers in the EU, together accounting for 45% of Europe's gas power capacity. These two countries, along with the United Kingdom, have already drawn up plans to develop new gas power plants in the coming years, despite having pledged to decarbonise their electricity systems.
With its 2030 clean energy target, Britain has one of the most ambitious energy reforms in Europe. Earlier this month, the UK's National Energy System Operator (NESO) confirmed that the United Kingdom could reach this target if the country does not further increase the capacity of its gas fleet. The gas power plants already under construction in the United Kingdom risk undermining the country's ability to meet its climate target, as they would increase the UK's electricity capacity by 1 459 GW.
Italy and Germany have likewise pledged to decarbonise their energy sectors by 2035, yet all three countries' energy plans lack concrete measures to stop using fossil gas, the environmental NGO notes.
As early as last month, the non-governmental organisation Global Legal Action Network took the EU to court after finding the bloc's measures for reducing methane emissions in the gas import process ineffective. The legal complaint was based on the fact that the European Union's procurement mechanism does not provide for rules on the methane emissions associated with the production of the gas the EU purchases.
The report stresses that, of the 885 gas power plants currently operating in Europe, only four have been closed since the beginning of last year. Just seven more gas power plants are scheduled to close by 2035.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that wealthy countries should already have completed decarbonisation of their energy sectors by the end of the next decade in order to comply with the net zero emissions targets set out in the Paris Agreement. The report also notes that Bulgaria, Poland and Romania are largely committed to using fossil fuels, as they are preparing to increase gas power capacity from nine to 24 GW while already falling behind on their plans to phase out coal.
Many of these projects are financed from national and various EU funds, including the EU modernisation and recovery funds, the environmental non-governmental organisation Beyond Fossil Fuels writes in its statement, arguing that these projects could divert taxpayers' money away from the development of renewables, grids and storage, entrenching a commitment to fossil fuels instead.
"Europe's plans for new gas energy infrastructure are dangerously out of step with its climate targets. Such overbuilding threatens to lock us into decades of dependence on fossil fuels – a path that leads straight to climate chaos," says Mustață, adding: "Governments must align their gas power plans with the need to replace fossil fuels in Europe's energy system with renewables, grids and storage by 2035."