A new report from the campaign group Beyond Fossil Fuels warns that Europe’s growing reliance on fossil gas for electricity generation undermines the continent’s climate commitments. Despite ambitious goals to transition to clean energy, countries like Italy, the UK, and Germany are planning significant expansions in their gas power infrastructure, which could increase their collective gas capacity by 32%. These countries are already responsible for nearly half of Europe’s existing gas-fired power generation.
The expansion of gas plants threatens to lock Europe into high-carbon energy systems for decades, hindering progress towards meeting the climate targets set under the Paris Agreement. While the UK has set a target for a clean power grid by 2030, it has not yet developed clear plans to phase out its existing gas plants, and neither have Italy and Germany. In fact, the UK’s energy authority recently confirmed that the clean power target could be achieved only if no new gas plants are built beyond the capacity already in place in 2023.
Germany and Italy, despite both having committed to decarbonizing their energy sectors by 2035, are also continuing to invest in gas power plants. The report highlights that half of Europe’s planned gas capacity increase is expected to come from these three countries. Moreover, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria are among the countries planning to significantly expand their own gas plants, despite receiving EU funding intended to modernize their energy systems and make them more sustainable.
Beyond Fossil Fuels argues that these expansions, which are often funded by taxpayer money or EU funds, severely undermine the credibility of Europe’s climate ambitions. The report further points out that while fossil gas generated 24% of Europe’s electricity in 2023, only a handful of gas power plants have been retired since January 2023. Without significant action to close these plants and halt the expansion of new gas infrastructure, Europe risks missing its chance to transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy and could face decades of continued reliance on fossil fuels, with severe implications for its climate goals.
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