What’s the issue?
In December the European Commission issued proposed changes to existing standards and regulations that would enable the existing gas infrastructure to evolve for the changing needs as the European Union (EU) seeks to achieve its goal to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050.
Why does it matter?
The EU proposals address many of the same issues that will confront any evolution of the natural gas infrastructure here in the U.S. But unlike in Europe, the U.S. does not seem to have a strategy to keep the gas infrastructure relevant for the net-zero future. By not planning ahead, the industry may enable the all-electrification purists, who seek to make gas infrastructure irrelevant here.
What’s our view?
The path laid out in the EU strategy has a lot in common with the actions that will need to be taken here. The U.S. industry could certainly use some of the key elements of the EU strategy as the foundation for actions here to move the U.S. forward and prepare for the energy evolution in a manner that keeps gas infrastructure relevant.
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