Delivering the EU Climate Law with EU gas infrastructure

March 10, 2020

Brussels, 10 March 2020

GIE supports EU’s climate-neutrality objective by 2050 and, thus, the EU Green Deal. GIE supports DG CLIMA in its initiative for European climate law – achieving climate neutrality by 2050 – adopted on 4 ^th March 2020 by the College of European Commissioners.

We see this first step as essential to more predictability for industry and investors and to secure a fair, just and effective energy transition. We support Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, in his commitment to conduct a full impact assessment before announcing more ambitious 2030 GHG emissions reduction targets and see this as key so that nobody is left behind.

We have 70 members in 26 European countries and represent a significant part of the energy community in Europe. We operate the LNG terminals, gas storages and transmission pipelines, thus providing hundreds of thousands of jobs and transport 25% of all energy consumed in EU. GIE members have been fundamental in the process over the last decade for internal gas market completion, significantly contributing to diversification of routes and sources, security of supply, flexibility and competition across the Union.

We are committed to contributing to the short, mid and long-term climate ambitions through the supply of natural gas, renewable and decarbonised gases:

The gas transmission system is mostly well interconnected across Member States and allows for efficient transport of gaseous energy over long distances. GIE members are taking steps to release the largely untapped potential to achieve significant emission reductions with the switch from carbon-intensive fuels such as coal, lignite and heavy fuel oil towards low emission natural gas. Moreover, several of the transmissions systems are today receiving increasing amounts of biomethane, which are part of a green gas market while preparing connected schemes for guarantees of origin.

Gas storages can stock sustainable energy at large-scale, thereby ensuring security of supply through physical availability of gas and flexibility tools from intra-hourly to seasonal operational needs to benefit an overall robust and resilient energy system.

LNG assets provide diversification, security of supply and flexibility to enable the integration of variable renewable energy sources. LNG provides opportunities to reduce carbon, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur, noise and particulate matter emissions in the maritime and road transport sectors. LNG ensures EU’s gas market connected to a global LNG market and energy supply to off-grid areas. LNG terminals will be in the future the gate to Europe for imported renewable energy. LNG terminals will be in the future the gate to Europe for imported renewable energy.

With particular reference to the Climate Law, GIE will continue to promote the essential role of the gas infrastructure and ask for a stable and predictable regulatory framework to provide investor certainty and promote a “hybrid” energy system, the value of sector coupling and the adoption of a technologically-neutral approach to objectively assess solutions for carbon-neutral transport, including maintaining LNG and bio-LNG as alternative fuel sources in EU legislation. Some of our members are hydrogen frontrunners working on pilot projects and sandboxes, as well as full-scale solutions for industrial players.

Note to editors

Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) is an association representing the interests of gas infrastructure operators active in gas transmission, storage and LNG regasification. GIE is a trusted partner of European institutions, regulatory bodies and industry stakeholders. It is based in Brussels, the heart of European policymaking.

GIE currently represents 70 member companies from 26 countries. Its internal structure has three columns corresponding to the three types of infrastructure activities represented: GTE (Gas Transmission Europe), GSE (Gas Storage Europe) and GLE (Gas LNG Europe), all of which fall under the umbrella of GIE. This structure allows member companies to speak with one voice on infrastructure topics as well as to build positions on column-specific issues. To find out more about GIE’s structure and activities, please visit the website at www.gie.eu .