Eight EU countries defend the use of natural gas in the energy transition

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Eight European Union countries, mainly from the East, defend the use of natural gas during the energy transition period. If the place of gas remains controversial, its production has not been explicitly excluded from the new European Green Pact.

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For two years, the European Commission has been waging a battle for a carbon neutral Europe by 2050. The objective is ambitious and requires a transitional period, a source of uncertainty for the countries that benefit from fossil fuel revenues, including including natural gas.

Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have just co-signed a document. They are asking that natural gas, an essential resource for these countries, remain a back-up source, while they develop renewable energy and adapt the electricity network. But to achieve this, the EU will have to continue its financial support for gas infrastructures. 

Risk of rising energy prices

However, if Brussels has not yet decided its position, the European Investment Bank has decided to stop funding any new project related to fossil fuels, including gas, from 2022.

This sudden cessation of investments, warn the signatories, risks increasing the cost of the transition. And at the same time to inflate energy prices for the consumer. 

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• European Union
• Environment