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Energy, Environment & Transport Pro Brief |
| Tue 22 October 2024 | View online
Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes |
| | | Gas in retreat while industrial demand slowly returns |
| European gas consumption decreased by about 69 TWh by August this year compared to 2023, the EU watchdog ACER finds in its quarterly market report released today. Yet, industrial demand for gas is up slightly by 9 TWh.
Meanwhile, renewables continue to slowly push gas out of the electricity mix – gas-powered power generation was down 12 TWh in the third quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2023.
Consequently, EU LNG imports are at their lowest level since Q4 2021.
“The EU share of the global LNG import market shrank to 18% from 24% in Q3 2023,” the report finds.
Looking to the future, ACER is flagging the issue of gas transport tariffs – like Germany’s transit fee contested by Central European countries this year. “Cross-border transport costs have risen by circa 40% since 2021 on average, double the rate of inflation,” the Ljubljana-based agency finds.
They “will play an increasingly significant role in the functioning of the EU internal gas market in the coming years, supporting or hindering gas supplies from specific sources,” the agency adds. [NK] |
| German chancellor Scholz lunching with Emir of Qatar |
| The Emir of Qatar is about to pay Germany a quiet visit: Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for lunch at the federal government’s guest house Schloss Meseberg, in Brandenburg.
Talks will focus on bilateral relations as well as international issues of security and business, according to the appointment notice issued by the German government. Germany became a customer of Qatari LNG during the 2022 gas supply crisis.
The emirate holds a significant volume of stocks in key German corporations such as RWE, Volkswagen and Hapag Lloyd. [JS] |
| | German employer group questions 2045 climate target |
| Ahead of a high-level summit with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this morning, Germany’s main employers’ association, BDA, has put into question the country’s national target to become climate neutral by 2045.
“With the 2045 target, Germany has gone even further than the EU's 2050 target,” BDA President Rainer Dulger told newspaper FAZ.
“From today's perspective, this was too ambitious,” he said, blaming policy-makers for not doing their “homework.”
“I therefore say very clearly: we should stretch the climate timetable so far that it becomes realistic,” Dulger said.
So far, German business groups were keen on underlining that they “don't want to call the climate targets into question” – something that Dulger also repeated just three sentences after questioning the 2045 climate target.
Scholz is expected to speak at BDA from 09:35 am, which you can watch here. [JP] |
| COP29: Resolution adopted by Parliament’s centrist alliance |
| The European Parliament’s non-binding resolution on COP29 was adopted last night with 54 votes in favour, 23 against and four abstentions, passing with the votes from EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA and the Left.
The agreement stresses the need for an “unambiguous signal” on phasing out fossil fuels following on from COP28 – a stance that was initially contested.
MEPs also urge the Berlaymont “to further encourage and support other countries to introduce or improve carbon pricing mechanisms.” Today only 24% of worldwide CO2 emissions are properly priced.
“It is positive that the progressive and pro-European groups united to defend at least the compromise we managed to agree on,” said the Greens’ Lena Schilling. [NK] |
| COP29: Storage and grids pledges unveiled |
| The Azerbaijani Presidency of this year’s global climate talks yesterday released the nine pledges they will ask countries to endorse over the course of COP29.
Amongst the proposals is a ‘green energy pledge.’ Signatories will commit to contributing towards a target of 1,500 GW of energy storage by 2030 – six times current levels – and to build or refurbish 25 million kilometres of power lines also by 2030.
On storage, the Azerbaijanis are asking the world to follow the G7’s lead. In April, climate and energy ministers from the seven liberal countries already committed to the 1,500 figure.
The proposed commitment builds on last year’s pledge at COP28 when 133 signatories agreed to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity and double the global annual rate of energy efficiency improvements to over 4%, both by 2030.
Another proposed pledge – the ‘green energy zones and corridors pledge’ aims to deepen grid interconnection between governance and shared governance and regulation.
This will be familiar ground for EU energy wonks, but the Europeans are not the only ones working on an energy union. The African Union is building its own single electricity market with a master plan for a continental-scale grid. [DC/NK] |
| | Report: Biodiversity as a driver of economic prosperity |
| Today, French NGO Institut Montaigne launches a new report, which says that biodiversity is an enabler of economic prosperity rather than a barrier.
“While 50% of the world’s GDP directly depends on biodiversity, the significance of its erosion remains poorly understood,” the report reads.
The analysis puts forward proposals to integrate biodiversity into new economic models through public, economic and social actors, ranging from a European level to very local solutions.
Proposals include actions to better direct public spending towards positive impacts; developing state-guaranteed bank loans to encourage private players to commit to biodiversity; and a European reference framework for biodiversity that allocates responsibilities between public and private players. [BM] |
| NGOs put France on notice over bottom trawling |
| NGOs Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) and Défense des Milieux Aquatiques (DMA) have sent the French government formal notice to ban bottom trawling in marine protected areas. If no action is taken, the NGOs say they will take their case to the French courts.
According to their press release, bottom trawling is practised in 77% of France's marine Natura 2000 sites, which they say is in breach of environmental legislation.
"We hope that legal action will prompt the French government to take swift action to stop destructive fishing in its protected areas," said Philippe Garcia, president of DMA. [NC] |
| Brussels pumps €380 million into nature conservation |
| Yesterday, the Commission announced that 133 environmental protection projects will receive money from the EU’s LIFE scheme.
Beneficiaries will include dairy farmers in Italy and French vineyards, who will each get €7 million to shield their production from climate-related extreme weather events. One scheme is aptly named VINOSHIELD.
The press gets to be part of the fun, too.
“Please remember the name Aquatic warbler, I will be asking you tomorrow if you remember the species we are trying to protect,” Eric Mamer, chief spokesperson, told journalists on Monday.
This species of bird is both shrill and endangered, a bit like the press, and is the subject of a €24 million multi-country programme. [NK] |
| | Bavarian delegation in China after major BMW recall |
| In order to help “Bavarian enterprises stay successful in China,” the economy minister of southern German state Bavaria is on a five-day business trip to China.
But Hubert Aiwanger, who once characterised the European combustion engine phaseout as “green zeitgeist”, will likely face some awkward discussions.
His departure on Monday came days after Bavaria’s major car manufacturer, BMW, was forced to recall about 700,000 vehicles in China over safety concerns.
Bavaria accounts for roughly one-fifth of Germany’s total trade volume with China, and holds several state offices in major and secondary Chinese cities.
Aiwanger and a delegation of German business representatives will visit Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, where they plan to visit key Chinese car brands, including Li Auto, WeRide, BYD and Shenzhen Bus Group, according to a press release. [JS] |
| IMF chief economist: ‘EV shock’ could split Europe in two |
| Yesterday, Jonathan Packroff reported on a Berlin economics conference, where IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said that the surge of Chinese electric vehicles is dividing Europe into countries that benefit, and those that do not.
“The overall impact [on GDP growth] would be close to zero, but the impact across different countries could be very different,” he said.
In countries “very integrated in car manufacturing,” such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, the ‘EV shock’ could lead to an overall GDP reduction of up to 1% compared to the status quo.
On the other hand, for the second group of countries – those that “are users of cars” – Gourinchas said that “having access to these cheaper electric vehicles that are coming from China is a net benefit.”
Among those countries, Cyprus, Ireland, and Malta stand to gain the most economically, with a positive impact on their GDP of above 1%.
However, the economist did not see tariffs on Chinese EVs as the solution. He said these would “generally hurt" the euro area. |
| | French heat pumps - the hard numbers |
| Observ'ER, a non-profit observatory for renewable energy, has presented a study on the state of the French heat pump market.
In 2023, the geothermal heat pump sector sold 3,890 units and grew business by almost 29% – its best growth for more than ten years.
However, the report points out that the existing workforce of installers and drillers is still too small to meet demand.
For air/water heat pumps, after a significant rise in 2022, this segment has fallen by 14% in 2023. According to the report, this decline is partly due to the collapse of the new-build market and high inflation.
Instead, the market remains focused on renewing old equipment that has reached the end of its life.
According to Observ'ER, the sector needs investment of €5 billion of investment and an extra 40,000 workers to keep up with Europe’s green transition. [NC] |
| | Commission delays on chemical rules endangers health |
| Catherine Feore reports on yesterday’s Ombudsman report, which accused the European Commission of persistently failing to meet deadlines on rules designed to limit exposure to dangerous chemicals.
In her conclusions, Emer O’Reilly found that systemic delays by the European Commission and the resulting failure to meet its deadlines amounted to maladministration. She has made a recommendation that the Commission revise its internal procedures to ensure that it can make faster decisions on applications.
“It takes the Commission on average 14.5 months to prepare draft decisions, although the deadline for doing so is three months. In certain cases, it takes several years,” she said.
The fault did not lie solely with the Commission. Another reason for delays was the lack of sufficient information from applicants. O’Reilly nevertheless called the on the Commission to ensure that the companies had the necessary information to submit better applications.
She was also critical of the lack of transparency in the information that was published concerning the REACH Regulation (Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) with little information on the reasons for delays. For example, it could simple refer to “disagreements among the member states”.
Replying to these accusations, the Commission Spokesperson, Johanna Bernsel said, “Some of the timelines are not within the control of the Commission.” Bernsel said that “we are willing to examine how our internal procedures can be improved so that decision making becomes more efficient.” |
| | | | | | | Today’s brief was brought to you by Euractiv’s Energy, Environment & Transport team |
| | | | | Today’s briefing was prepared by the Energy, Environment and Transport team: Donagh Cagney, Nathan Canas, Paul Messad, Nikolaus J.Kurmayer and Bárbara Machado, but not with the keen eyes of any proofreaders. Share your feedback or information with us at [email protected]. |
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