{"id":111699,"date":"2025-12-27T13:39:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T12:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sonnenseite.com\/?p=111699"},"modified":"2025-12-27T13:39:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T12:39:10","slug":"european-gas-pipeline-companies-report-less-than-1-of-their-emissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sonnenseite.com\/en\/energy\/european-gas-pipeline-companies-report-less-than-1-of-their-emissions\/","title":{"rendered":"European gas pipeline companies report less than 1% of their emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
European gas pipeline companies, known officially as transmission system operators (TSOs), report less than 1% of their emissions on average because of a climate accounting loophole that lets them obscure their environmental impact from investors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
New research from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) finds that a lack of guidance from standard-setter the Greenhouse Gas Protocol allows pipeline companies to not report emissions from the final use of gas they transport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This \u201ctransported emissions\u201d ambiguity means that investors may gain the false impression that these gas TSOs are low-carbon entities which are somehow separate from the fossil fuel value chain and its risks \u2014 when in fact they are its crucial \u201cmidstream\u201d link. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This creates potential for greenwashing and unpriced risk at the financial institutions that serve these gas pipeline companies, as these indirect emissions effectively remain off the books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis fundamental flaw in climate accounting distorts the market by enabling gas pipeline companies to attract capital that might otherwise flow to greener investments,\u201d said Arjun Flora, energy finance analyst at IEEFA and author of the report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe broader risk is that this loophole ultimately delays the electrification of gas-consuming sectors and the transition away from fossil fuels.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report covers six European gas pipeline companies, none of which report transported emissions: Enag\u00e1s, Fluxys, Gasunie, NaTran, Open Grid Europe and Snam. Collectively they own and operate over 100,000km of gas pipelines and more than half of the EU\u2019s liquified natural gas terminals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
IEEFA estimates these six companies\u2019 total transported emissions to be 700 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually \u2014 similar to the greenhouse gas emissions of Germany, the EU\u2019s largest economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These companies\u2019 transported emissions are on average about 150 times larger than their total reported emissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The TSOs cite the technicality that they do not own or sell the gas as justification for not reporting transported emissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis contradicts gas pipeline companies\u2019 marketed role as energy transition partners committed to reducing emissions by shifting to low-carbon gas networks. They are not merely neutral transporters of third-party gas, but powerful corporate actors that actively shape European energy policy,\u201d said Flora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt follows logically that these companies should fully recognise downstream emissions from the gas they transport in their Scope 3 emissions. That they do not \u2014 despite clear guidance from disclosure experts CDP and target-certifier the Science Based Targets initiative \u2014 should give stakeholders cause for concern.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report finds that there has so far been insufficient pressure on gas pipeline companies to improve their transparency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is partly because of contradicting advice from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, as well as the delay of sector-specific European Sustainability Reporting Standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In IEEFA\u2019s view, closing the transported emissions loophole would enable gas pipeline companies to demonstrate their progress, as they work towards realising their shared vision of a low-carbon gas network supporting Europe\u2019s energy security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flora said: \u201cReporting these emissions would add significant credibility to gas pipeline companies\u2019 transition plans, financing frameworks and business strategies when communicated to financial markets, regulators and the public.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n