The EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund is intended to exclude oil, gas, anc coal projects. However, the European Commission on Friday said that under some circumstances, it could be used to fund natural gas projects. The Commission said that gas infrastructure that allows future decarbonization could benefit from the fund. The gas projects must also pose no significant harm to other environmental issues.
Some EU states such as Germany and Poland are planning to use natural gas as a “bridge” to shift from coal to cleaner sources of energy. This is despite concerns about associated methane leaks from gas infrastructures that can cancel its low-emission benefit. The Commission announced a deadline at the end of April for member states to submit their budget proposals for approval.
