In 2019 , the U.S. commence officiallypulling out of the Paris Agreement , seethe back gross ton ofimportant clime legislation , andexpandedfossil fuel substructure . Meanwhile last fall , Germanycommitted to reaching net - zero by 2050 later last month . And last calendar month , the UK ’s oil and gas industrycommittedto reaching nett - zero greenhouse petrol emissions by 2050 , too .
Does n’t that make you need to hightail it this hellscape and rule book a one - way ticket to London or Munich to sip tea leaf and bask in the glow of just environmental policy ? Well , perchance do n’t just yet . It turns out Europe is fucking up , too .
young researchfrom the Global Energy Monitor released Tuesday testify that European land are planning to invest almost $ 130 billion of private and public monetary fund into new gaseous state - provoke power plants , liquify natural gaseous state import terminal , and gas word of mouth rout from Russia , Turkmenistan , and Israel . All that new infrastructure would give Europe the capacity to import 30 pct more natural gas that will in twist fuel the climate crisis .
Photo: Getty
https://gizmodo.com/could-we-have-a-global-green-new-deal-1840535860
The European move to import gas at a time when fossil fuel has to be cut is due in part to falling demand in Japan and South Korea . Demand is also rising slower expected in China , and Europe istaking inmore of the gas those other area do n’t want . Last year , the continent imported 85 million ton of gas , more gas than everbefore .
The new report show up the EU already has the capacity to bring in almost twice as much gas as it uses . So why expand gun infrastructure if they ’re already oversupplied ? The story says it ’s because manufacture illustration with the European connection of Transmission System Operators for Gas ( ENTSOG)—a trade mathematical group of grapevine and gasolene companies — are result gas infrastructure planning .
“ To say that the legacy diligence influences the process is actually an understatement , ” Ted Nace , the Global Energy Monitor ’s Founder and Executive Director , distinguish Earther in an e-mail . The bequest industry directs the process . ”
Nearly $ 40 billion or a walloping third of the design investments in unexampled natural gaseous state infrastructure is allow from gas expansion design in the UK and Germany alone . So much forreachingnet - zero emission ! Greece , Poland , Romania , and Italy are also all expanding their gas substructure substantially .
This could n’t be coming at a speculative time . Fossil gas base can have a lifetime of over 40 old age , which means that endue in new dodo gas infrastructure today could lock Europe into using more of it for decades . scientist have made it clean-cut that we ca n’t keep expand fossil fuel substructure — in fact , we need to startshutting it downand replacing it with non - polluting get-up-and-go quickly . put away into more gas base would make that inconceivable .
“ In lodge to come at net zero emissions by mid - century , Europe involve to invest in a raw vigor arrangement that uses combination of renewable generated power , battery storage , and ask side direction , rather than generating power from gas , ” allege Nace .
unluckily , this gas base expansion is part of a global course . More natural accelerator is being pull out , which is make it cheaper and more accessible . Last year , gas was the main driver of ball-shaped carbon discharge growth , accordingto the Global Carbon Project .
“ Natural gaseous state usage has surged , with an attendant 2.6 percent increase in atomic number 6 dioxide emissions for 2019 , ” Rob Jackson , a Stanford University prof and Global Carbon Project investigator , enunciate in a command in December . “ In fact , rise natural gas use accounts for 60 percent of fogy emanation growth in recent days . ”
And atomic number 6 dioxide emissions are n’t the only trouble . lifelike gas processing and transportation also leaks methane , a greenhouse gaseous state that ’s about120 timesmore potent than carbon dioxide in the short term .
It ’s not too belated to break off most of this base from being built , though . Construction has started on less than 10 percent of the advise liquefied natural accelerator pedal import terminals . Ditto for many of the proposed European pipelines .
“ It ’s clear that we demand to reexamine new investments in fossil fuels like gas , both to save on billions of future stranded assets as well as to ensure that clean energy gets the funding it needs in fiat to foregather our climate objectives , ” enounce Nace .
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