
ROME - Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine has upended decades of energy policy and a long-term dependence on Russian gas. Across Europe, governments are scrambling to find alternate energy supplies for the coming winter.
This investigative series looks at how the energy and climate crises intersect, with a focus on Italy and Germany, the European countries traditionally most reliant on Russian gas. We examine the close ties between the gas industry and government in these countries, and how these relationships are evolving at this critical juncture.
As governments bail out energy companies and fast-track liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, fossil gas is fast gaining a new status as the necessary fuel for ‘energy security’, while at the same time, being promoted as a ‘green’ fuel and part of the solution to the climate crisis. This series examines whether there is a broader coordinated push to exploit the current crisis to lock in gas for the long term – and who might be behind it.
ONLINE
- Italy's Lurch to the Right Raises Risk of Fossil Gas Lock-In - DeSmog (United Kingdom), 22/09/2022.
- Con la possibile virata a destra dell’Italia aumenta il rischio di vincolare il paese al gas - Il Manifesto (Italy), 23/09/2022
- A New Era for Germany’s Gas Industry Fuels Climate Fears - DeSmog (United Kingdom), 06/12/2022.
- German gas lobby fuels climate fears and hooks the country for decaes - voxeurop, 20/12/2023
- Sous prétexte d'indépendance énergétique, le lobby du gaz vend ses chimères à l'Allemagne, voxeurop, 20/12/2022
- Wie die deutsche Gas-Lobby den Klimawandel vorantreibt - voxeurop, 20/12/2022
- Come la lobby del gas tiene la Germania agganciata con la scusa dell'indipendenza dalla Russia, voxeurop, 20/12/2022
- El lobby del gas alemán aviva los miedos climáticos y engancha al país durante décadas, voxeurop, 20/12/2022
- Europe’s Gas Lobby Exploits Energy Security Fears in Year Since Ukraine War, DeSmog, 24 February 2023
- Liquid Gas Industry Fights to Weaken EU Climate Plans Ahead of Key Vote, DeSmog, 7 March 2023
- Gas industry lobbying hard against EU boiler phaseout, leaked emails suggest, The Guardian, 7 March 2023;
- War in Ukraine: how Europe’s gas lobby is exploiting fears over energy security, Voxeurop, 05/04/2023;
- Sécurité énergétique : la promesse que l’industrie du gaz martèle depuis la guerre en Ukraine, Voxeurop, 05/04/2023;
- Guerra in Ucraina: come la lobby europea del gas sfrutta la crisi energetica, Voxeurop, 05/04/2023;
- How the liquid gas industry vowed to weaken EU climate plans, Voxeurop, 06/04/2023;
- Comment l’industrie du GPL s’applique à diluer les ambitions climatiques européennes, Voxeurop, 06/04/2023.
COUNTRIES
- Italy
- Germany
- EU
- Russia
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