{"id":49216,"date":"2023-09-15T12:28:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T11:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/?p=49216"},"modified":"2023-09-15T12:33:27","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T11:33:27","slug":"eu-uses-pollution-tax-funds-to-back-romanian-gas-pipeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2023\/09\/15\/eu-uses-pollution-tax-funds-to-back-romanian-gas-pipeline\/","title":{"rendered":"EU uses pollution tax funds to back Romanian gas pipeline"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the European Union pushes for a phase out of fossil fuels on the world stage, it is continuing to hand public money meant for climate projects to gas pipelines within its borders.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While it no longer funds the extraction of fossil fuels, the EU backs gas pipelines in Eastern Europe using money generated from taxes on pollution.<\/span><\/p>\n

When polluting European companies are taxed through the EU\u2019s emissions trading scheme, some of the money goes to the Modernisation Fund.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fund\u2019s slogan is \u201caccelerating the transition to climate neutrality\u201d and it is aimed at ten Eastern European countries which are among the bloc\u2019s poorest.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But it is giving <\/span>\u20ac86 million<\/span><\/a> ($92m) to the Tuzla-Podisor pipeline which will transport gas from a new field in Romania\u2019s Black Sea to three Romanian gas power plants and perhaps to Romania\u2019s neighbours soon too.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘Transition fuel’<\/h3>\n

Justifying the funding, an EU official told Climate Home that the gas will help Romania get off coal and \u201cas such can contribute to emissions reductions\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They added that the investment only covers gas transmission capacity \u201cthat corresponds to the amount of gas that can be estimated to replace coal-fired electricity generation\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n