Ref. Ares(2022)4652577 - 24/06/2022
DG ENER meeting with Gas Naturally
13 April 2021
Participants:
Gas Naturally: Dawn Summers, President GasNaturally, Francois Regis Mouton, IOGP, André
Findeisen, Wintershall Dea, Andrea Stegher, IGU, James Watson, Eurogas, Jakub Przyborowicz,
GIE, Esther Busscher, LGE President, Manuel Coxe, Marcogaz.
DG ENER: Cristina Lobillo Borrero, Adela Tesarova, Zita Csoka and Meline Gonzalez Piloyan
This meeting took place on request of GasNaturally. Their representatives made the following points:
Natural gas has a major role to play as transition fuel and this needs to be recognised also in
EU Taxonomy. The delegated act needs to maintain technological neutrality in the transition
process, there is a major potential for CCUS (a number of ongoing and planned projects
across the EU). More realistic thresholds in the Taxonomy Regulation are needed: while the
emission threshold for capacity mechanism in the 2018 Electricity Regulation is
550gCO2e/kWh, the draft DA operates with 100gCO2e/kWh with effect from 2022.
GasNaturally has concerns related to non-inclusion of CO2 storage, gas infrastructure and
H2-related transport in the Commission’s TEN-E proposal. These investments are important
for the transition to hydrogen economy and, in some part so the EU, also for transition away
from coal.
LNG has a role to play in rural areas.
GasNaturally supports the work on methane emissions and would be happy to help the
Commission to engage exporters.
A major study on the future of hydrogen in Europe: Hydrogen4EU study (for which ENER
and CLIMA participate at the advisory board) will be published on 26 April and GasNaturally
would be happy to present it to ENER.
A dedicated report on decarbonisation process will be announced at the Madrid Forum on
21/4 and will look at the role of gas infrastructure and new gases.
ENER representatives took note of the comments made, they recalled that the DA on Taxonomy is
being finalised by the Commission these days and that the Commission cannot comment on any
leaked documents. They also provided an overview of the Fit for 55 Package and in particular the
legislative proposals for 4Q/2021.