Five environmental NGOs (CAN Europe, Birdlife, ClientEarth, Food and Water Action Europe and Friends of the Earth Europe) sent a letter to the European Commission's Executive Vice-President in charge of the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, and Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson on Tuesday 28 April, asking them that the revision of the European Regulation on the Trans-European Energy Network (TEN-E - 347/2013) should lead to the exclusion of any direct or indirect support to fossil fuel infrastructures.
In particular, these NGOs point out that, according to recent studies (see EUROPE 12407/21), further investment in new gas infrastructure would not only be unnecessary from the point of view of the EU's security of energy supply, but would also risk making the Union 'captive' to fossil gas.
In their view, aid for the conversion of existing infrastructure should therefore be granted only for the transport of hydrogen from renewable electricity.
The five organisations also advocate that future planning of EU energy infrastructure should anticipate the reduction in energy demand due to stronger energy efficiency policies and promote more efficient use of existing infrastructure.
Scheduled for the end of this year, the revision of the TEN-E regulation will be the subject of a public consultation starting next week.
To consult the letter (in English): https://bit.ly/2yOBTPX (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)