A coalition of 19 NGOs and ‘think tanks’ sent a letter to the European Commission on Tuesday (7 December) asking it to amend certain elements of its gas package, scheduled for 14 December, in the light of a draft version recently released to the media (see EUROPE 12839/4).
“We are concerned that in its current format it (the gas package) will not serve the EU’s efforts to achieve its climate neutrality objective and will not be in line with the commitment made under the Paris Agreement”, the organisations writes.
They say that future legislative proposals should facilitate the phase-out of fossil gases by 2035 and give “clear priority” to renewable hydrogen rather than so-called “low-carbon” gases.
The signatories therefore criticise the potential introduction of a target or ceiling for ‘blending hydrogen’ with fossil gas and call for clear definitions that explicitly distinguish between renewable hydrogen, hydrogen produced from fossil gas with or without carbon capture and hydrogen produced from nuclear energy.
They also call for a careful assessment of the role of fossil gas transmission and distribution system operators in the planning of future hydrogen infrastructure and a stronger role for the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).
See the letter: https://bit.ly/3pyz9Nd (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)