EU parliament approves EIB gas funding despite criticism over fossil fuels

The European Parliament’s energy committee has declined to reject a proposed list of priority energy projects eligible for funding from the European Investment Bank despite critics saying it violates a pledge by the lender to phase out fossil fuel lending. 

A report found that the list contains contains 32 fossil gas infrastructure projects costing taxpayers €29 billion ($32 billion). But the European Commission - which is responsible for drafting the list of projects eligible for EIB funding - says these are not investments in gas extraction but rather gas infrastructure such as pipelines, which could be used in in the future to transport green gas. 

The European Investment Bank, the EU’s lending arm, last year pledged to phase out investment in fossil fuels by 2022. Germany and the European Commission were against including gas in the phase-out, but relented after the phase-out date was delayed by one year. In the end the phase-out adopted in November included gas. 

Critics say the list devised in the last weeks shows the EU executive never seriously had the intention to allow an end to gas project funding.