Archives: Fact Sheets

Liquefied Lies: The Real Costs of Europe’s Liquefied ‘Natural’ Gas Addiction

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LNGFossil FuelsClimate

Between 2021 and 2023, EU Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imports doubled, now comprising about 40% of the bloc’s gas imports. LNG is neither clean nor cheap; it worsens climate change with high greenhouse gas and methane emissions, harms human health, and contributes to human rights abuses, particularly affecting marginalized communities in exporting countries.

Although LNG demand is expected to peak in 2024 and existing terminals are underutilized, the EU still plans to expand its LNG capacity to 406 bcm by 2030, deepening fossil fuel dependency.

With Mr. Trump reelected, trade policy shifts, energy market instability, and weakened environmental protections are expected, increasing LNG-related risks for communities and the climate.

Check out our briefing published with Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE). 

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LNG – LIQUEFIED FRACKED GAS: Unveiling the Toxic Truth Behind Europe’s LNG Obsession

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LNGJusticeClimate

Together with Gas No Es Solución, we have examined the imports of U.S. Liquefied ‘Natural’ Gas (LNG) into the EU in 2023.

Last year, gas imports from the US accounted for nearly 23% of the total fossil gas consumption in the 13 EU countries that imported US LNG. Notably, the primary importers were the Netherlands, France, and Spain.When considering the entire EU-27, over 19% of the bloc’s total gas consumption is met by US LNG, which is almost entirely sourced from fracking.

Specifically, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (E.I.A), 88% of gas produced in the US is extracted through hydraulic fracturing. If we apply this percentage to the total volume of US LNG imports, it means that in 2023, American fracked gas fulfilled over 17% of the total gas demand in the EU-27.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, instead of transitioning to renewable energy and phasing out fossil fuels justly and swiftly, the EU has turned to US fossil gas, shifting the costs of pollution and environmental degradation to local communities there. The LNG boom poses a severe threat to the climate and frontline communities, further exacerbating the pollution of air, water, and soil largely caused by the activities of the petrochemical and fossil fuel industry. Fossil gas, no matter its origin, is no solution, and a new LNG lock-in will only delay the urgently needed transition to 100% renewables.  

Read the full briefing here.

Decoding the EU Methane Regulation

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MethaneFossil FuelsClimate

Unveiling the Key Elements of the EU Methane Regulation Compromise Agreement

The aim of this analysis is to provide a tool for better understanding the key points of the compromise agreement on the EU Methane Regulation, as adopted by the EU institutions last November.

The regulation represents the EU’s first attempt to regulate methane emissions from the energy sector, with internal measures aimed at monitoring, reporting, and verifying (MRV), as well as detecting and repairing (LDAR) methane leaks, and limiting emissions from routine flaring and venting (LRVF) activities. The regulation also considers emissions from energy imports, as the EU is among the largest importers of fossil fuels globally, although it misses the opportunity to extend internal MRV, LDAR, and LRVF measures to imports.

Finally, the analysis also includes a comparison between EU emission reduction measures and those adopted in other countries that are among the EU’s main trading partners.

Read more here.

Hydrogen: Climate Fix Or Fossil Fuelled Fiction?

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LNGJusticeFossil FuelsClimate

10 Reasons why hydrogen is a problem 

Read more here.

The aim of this briefing is to offer a clear and concise explanation of why hydrogen, regardless of how it is made, can create more problems than solutions for people and the planet. We have identified 10 key reasons that show why hydrogen poses serious climate, environmental and social justice risks.

The briefing highlights the problems with Europe’s move towards a hydrogen economy.

It shows how hydrogen, today largely made from fossil ‘natural’ gas, can be a safety hazard and a leaky climate issue.

While limited amounts of hydrogen might be needed in the future, the briefing shows how ‘green’ hydrogen could come with a troublesome track-record of land and resource-grabbing, unneeded infrastructure build-out, high energy bills and neocolonial practices that ultimately distract from urgently needed real solutions.

The briefing is a collection of easy-to-understand facts around hydrogen in the face of an oversized hydrogen boom fuelled by fossil fuel industry interests.

Want a sneak peek into the briefing? Here are the topics it adresses in 10 short chapters:

  • The Hydrogen Hype Hides a Greenwashing Scam
  • Hydrogen Infrastructure Could Become a Cash Cow for the Fossil Fuel Industry
  • Hydrogen Is Dangerous
  • Hydrogen Is a Climate Hazard
  • Hydrogen Has Negative Impacts on Natural Resources
  • Hydrogen Worsens the Neocolonial Dynamics of Our Current Energy System
  • Hydrogen Is an Uncertain Bet That Could Ultimately Benefit Polluters
  • Hydrogen Is Expensive
  • Hydrogen Is Linked to Dirty Fossil Fertilizers
  • Hydrogen Distracts From Real Solutions

 

Fracking – Coming To Your Doorstep

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LNGFossil FuelsClimate

One eighth of total EU gas consumption in 2022 is estimated to be fracked U.S. gas.

Imports of US gas into the EU represent 23% of the fossil gas consumption in the 11 EU LNG importer countries, and 14% of total EU27 gas consumption – and almost all of it is fracked. Fracking is a disaster for our climate and for communities affected by the brutal drilling method. Europe must swiftly move off all fossil gas for a safe liveable future.

  • 12% of the gas running in pipelines in the EU could be fracked US gas
  • Shipments of US gas to the EU have increased by 150% between 2021 & 2022
  • The biggest fracked US gas importer in 2022 was France, followed by Spain and The Netherlands
  • Europe’s gigantic LNG infrastructure build out plans do not match supply and will not provide real energy security

Read the full briefing here.

Energy Imports: The Missing Piece of the EU Methane Regulation Puzzle

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Fossil Fuels

An Independent Verification Body Required to Oversee Methane Emissions outside EU borders

Deep cuts to human-caused methane emissions are a top priority if we want to fix the climate crisis and slow the rate of global warming. Methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year period after it reaches the atmosphere. Time is of the essence and we need to act now. The energy sector is responsible for roughly 40% of total anthropogenic methane emissions and oil, coal and fossil gas operations are the largest source of those emissions.

So far the provisions discussed in the EU Methane Regulation Proposal to tackle emissions across the whole supply chain only include an information obligation for importers and are based on a weak verification system, referring to the UNEP-led International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) as verifier body (article 10 of the Methane Regulation Proposal). This is not good news, considering its position is biased because of its connections with fossil fuel industries.

The Methane Proposal needs to be a bold instrument to cut methane emissions across the entire supply chain, while phasing out fossil gas by 2035 and accelerating the transition towards 100% renewables.

Extending the EU domestic provisions on Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV), Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR), and Limits on Routine Venting and Flaring (LRVF) to operators located outside the EU is legally possible.

Together with CAN-Europe, we co-wrote a fact sheet highlighting the importance of slashing methane emissions from energy imports and the need for an independent verification system detached from fossil fuel industry interests.

“Given the powerful warming potential of methane and the fact that it is leaking across the supply chain, especially upstream at extraction level, requires urgent action outside EU borders. More than 80% of the fossil gas consumed in the EU comes from third countries responsible for 75 to 90% of the energy sector’s methane emissions. A recent report shows that legally speaking it is feasible to apply measures on non-EU operators placing products on the EU market. Policy makers cannot shut their eyes on what’s happening outside EU borders and need to push through rules to bring down domestic but also external methane emissions stemming from imports.” (Enrico Donda – Gas Campaigner, Food & Water Action Europe)     

 

“Given the powerful warming potential of methane and the fact that it is leaking across the supply chain, especially upstream at extraction level, requires urgent action outside EU borders. More than 80% of the fossil gas consumed in the EU comes from third countries responsible for 75 to 90% of the energy sector’s methane emissions. A recent report shows that legally speaking it is feasible to apply measures on non-EU operators placing products on the EU market. Policy makers cannot shut their eyes on what’s happening outside EU borders and need to push through rules to bring down domestic but also external methane emissions stemming from imports.” (Esther Bollendorff, Gas Policy Expert at Climate Action Network Europe)