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News / 9 April 2014

Report questions use of tax money for facilitation of Russian gas

The Netherlands and Europe are investing far too much in gas pipelines and storage facilities. The number of gas pipelines is already enough to meet the demand for gas. The planning and construction of pipelines (financed with European funds) that have to transport gas from Russia, Central Asia and North Africa to Europe and the Netherlands is getting out of hand. The current capacity for transport and storage in both the Netherlands and Europe is enough to meet European demand until 2050. Therefore, the 'gas hub' that was built for liquefied gas in Rotterdam is unnecessary. This is one of the conclusions of the report "The Price of Gas" that was commissioned by Both ENDS.


Waste of money

Pieter Jansen of Both ENDS: "Every euro that is spent on gas infrastructure is in fact a waste of money. With every euro that we are spending, we are increasing our dependence on Russia. In the meantime, the current situation in Ukraine raises doubts about Russia’s reliability as a gas supplier. Gas is a finite resource, and the tax money that Europe and the Netherlands are currently spending on gas infrastructure could be used for the rapid development of renewable energy. We believe that public investments in gas infrastructure should be brought to an end.”

 

New energy future

The outline describes the new reality of gas production, transportation and trade. It also makes a crystal clear case for the use of gas as purely a transition fuel to a new energy future. An additional disadvantage is that gas becomes more damaging to the environment as it is transported over longer distances.


Human rights violations

The study also highlights other disadvantages associated with gas. In countries like Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, from which a significant proportion of our gas is imported, gas production goes hand in hand with human rights violations. Already, a litany of complaints and problems has been recorded along many of the newly built pipelines.

 

More information (in Dutch): www.bothends.org/gas

The report (in Dutch):             Policy paper gasrotonde

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