Climate emergency requires real action now, not building new LNG terminals and gas pipelines

(EurActiv, 14 Feb 2020) With the so-called fourth PCI List of energy infrastructure projects now approved in the European Parliament, the battle for a future-proof EU energy policy continues, write MEPs Jutta Paulus and Marie Toussaint.

Jutta Paulus and Marie Toussaint are Members of the European Parliament for the Greens/EFA group.

On 12 February, only months after declaring a climate emergency, a majority of EU parliamentarians voted to continue EU support for 32 fossil gas terminals and pipelines. (Actually we found that, when counting every project with their TYNDP code, there are 55 gas projects in the list, but that’s a different story).

These fossil fuel projects now enjoy highest EU priority, thanks to their inclusion in the Projects of Common Interest (PCI) list. This PCI label opens funding opportunities for fossil gas terminals and pipelines worth €29 billion although none of these projects are needed for Europe’s energy security according to a recent Artelys report.

Despite widespread agreement among the left and centrist groups in the Parliament that support for fossil gas should indeed be avoided, most parliamentarians refused to make use of their power to reject the PCI list, the only legally-binding action MEPs could undertake in the process.

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EurActiv, 14 Feb 2020: Climate emergency requires real action now, not building new LNG terminals and gas pipelines