“Natural gas can be green”

The German natural gas sector is demanding changes to the government’s forthcoming Climate Action Plan 2050, saying the current draft fails to recognise the potential of natural gas on the way to decarbonise Germany’s economy. A ‘natural gas exit’ would make the heating transition more complicated and unnecessarily increase the price of CO₂-reductions, according to a joint appeal entitled “Natural gas can be green”. The German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), the Initiative Future Natural Gas and others are behind the appeal. It says: “Because of its flexibility, the energy source natural gas is the only fossil energy with the potential to be both a partner of renewables and become renewable itself.” Biogas and power-to-gas could make the gas infrastructure “the battery of the Energiewende,” it adds. Future Natural Gas recently started a PR campaign criticising the high-emissions coal industry, petrol and diesel cars, and positioning natural gas as the cleaner alternative.

Find the gas sector’s appeal in German here.

Read the CLEW article Deep divisions persist over German climate plan, coal exit and the CLEW factsheet Germany’s trimmed-down Climate Action Plan for background.