Tag: gas

Germany halts controversial Russian pipeline project

by Femke COLBORNE Germany on Tuesday put on ice the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline in response to Moscow’s recognition of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, finally halting the 10-billion-euro project that has long irked allies. Berlin had over the years doggedly pursued the pipeline which was set to double natural gas import capacity from Russia, despite opposition from the United States and Eastern Europe which fear it would leave the continent too dependent […]

Gas exporters working for ‘reliable’ supplies as Ukraine crisis worsens

by Tim Witcher DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Qatar’s emir said major gas exporting nations were working to ensure “credible and reliable” supplies as he hosted a forum overshadowed by the worsening crisis in Ukraine on Tuesday. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said the 11-nation Gas Exporting Countries Forum, which includes Russia, was striving to preserve stability in world markets, which have been rocked by growing fears of a conflict. But the group made no immediate […]

Iran hails nuclear talk ‘progress’ but Raisi insists US sanctions end

by Tim Witcher Agence France-Presse DOHA, Qatar (AFP) – Iran Monday signalled “significant progress” in talks on reviving a stalled accord on its nuclear programme but President Ebrahim Raisi, on his first visit to a Gulf state, again insisted that Washington must lift its crippling sanctions. Iran’s ultraconservative president, a personal target of the US sanctions, spoke out ahead of a summit of natural gas exporting nations in Qatar. The summit will take place against […]

EU presses on with green label for gas, nuclear

by Alex PIGMAN Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – The EU will face the fury of opponents to nuclear and gas energy on Wednesday when it proposes new criteria for a “green label” for investment projects intended to help fight climate change. The fight over the European Union’s classification of power sources is the latest dust-up in discussions between the 27 member states on how to achieve a net zero-carbon economy by 2050. Brussels had […]

Nord Stream 2 parent founds German subsidiary

FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) – The operating company behind the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany said Wednesday it has founded a German subsidiary as it seeks to get the pipeline up and running amid rising diplomatic tensions. “The new company is to become the owner and operator of the 54-kilometre section of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline located in the German territorial waters,” the Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 AG said in a statement. […]

EU nations quarrel over whether nuclear, gas are ‘green’

by Julien GIRAULT Agence France-Presse AMIENS, France (AFP) – Hours before the window for lodging objections closes, EU environment and energy ministers meeting in France Friday differed sharply on a European Commission provision that would classify nuclear and natural gas energy as “sustainable”. The controversy pits countries led by France — where nuclear generates a world-leading 70 percent of electricity — against Germany, Austria and others in the 27-nation bloc. Debate over the Commission’s so-called […]

EU nations quarrel over whether nuclear, gas are ‘green’

  by Julien GIRAULT Agence France Presse AMIENS, France (AFP) — Hours before the window for lodging objections closes, EU environment and energy ministers meeting in France Friday differed sharply on a European Commission provision that would classify nuclear and natural gas energy as “sustainable”. The controversy pits countries led by France — where nuclear generates a world-leading 70 percent of electricity — against Germany, Austria and others in the 27-nation bloc. Debate over the […]

EU moves to label nuclear, gas energy as ‘green’

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – The European Union is planning to label energy from nuclear power and natural gas as “green” sources for investment despite internal disagreement over whether they truly qualify as sustainable options. The proposal, seen by AFP on Saturday, aims to support the 27-nation bloc’s shift towards a carbon-neutral future and gild its credentials as a global standard-setter for fighting climate change. But the fact the European Commission quietly distributed the text to […]

Gas field tremor terror haunts Dutch villages

by Jan HENNOP Agence France-Presse GARRELSWEER, Netherlands (AFP) – Teacher Daan Schoolland was asleep with his partner when the earthquake struck the northern Dutch hamlet of Garrelsweer in the middle of the night. “It was like a wave, we could feel it coming towards us,” the burly father-of-three recalled. “When I woke up, the whole room was still shaking and my kids were crying in terror.” The 3.2-magnitude earthquake in November was the largest for […]

Gas giants: Can we stop cows from emitting so much methane?

  by Myriam LEMETAYER Agence France Presse That cow may look peaceful and harmless, munching on some grass in a verdant pasture. But don’t be fooled — it is emitting methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas contributing to runaway global climate change. Agriculture is responsible for 12 percent of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions, much of it due to methane, the second most warming gas after carbon dioxide. Methane is around 25 times more potent […]

Four killed in northern China gas explosion

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A gas explosion at a restaurant ripped through a busy street in a major Chinese city on Thursday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens, local authorities said. Dramatic footage from a nearby car’s dashboard camera, published by state media, showed a large cloud of smoke and dust erupting over the street as people ran to safety. State broadcaster CCTV showed windows ripped out of several buildings in a street […]

Oil & gas giant Total downplayed climate threat: study

PARIS, France (AFP) – The French oil and gas major Total deliberately downplayed the threat of global warming from the 1970s onwards, according to research based on interviews with former company executives and internal company documents. The findings, published by a trio of historians Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Global Environment Change, follow similar revelations about US oil giant ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell. The pattern that emerges is one of oil and gas giants […]