German NGOs call for European gas infrastructure moratorium - media report

Several German environmental NGOs are calling for a moratorium on new European gas infrastructure unless its necessity and the associated climate risks have been independently evaluated, writes Steven Hanke in Tagesspiegel Background. Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), Germanwatch, WWF, E3G and others have written a joint letter to the German government, the European Commission and members of the European Parliament urging them to take climate aspects into account during an upcoming regulatory reform on cross-border energy infrastructure.

Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) regulation aims to foster the development of cross-border energy infrastructure in Europe. Among other things, it stipulates how so-called Projects of Common Interest (PCI) are defined and selected. These are infrastructure projects with a pan-European impact that are seen as essential for completing the internal energy market, and can receive special funding. The European Commission aims to review the regulation as part of its Green Deal sustainable growth strategy “to ensure consistency with the climate neutrality objective”.

The NGOs said that while the regulation could become a “milestone on Europe’s path to climate neutrality”, it should focus on creating the necessary framework for cross-border renewable energy projects, such as joint offshore wind parks.