Climate risks ‘overlooked’

THE European Commission has granted priority status to natural gas projects without properly assessing their impact on climate change, the EU’s watchdog said yesterday.

The EU Ombudsman launched an inquiry in February into the commission’s process for approving fossil fuel projects as “Projects of Common Interest” (PCI), a label that means they can receive funding from the bloc and fast-tracked permits.

In the conclusion of its inquiry, the ombud said the commission’s sustainability assessments were “suboptimal”.

“Given the EU’s objectives concerning climate change and sustainability, it is regrettable that gas projects were included… without having their sustainability properly assessed,” it said.

None of the 32 gas projects on the latest PCI project list were selected on the basis that they would make a significant contribution to sustainability, the Ombudsman said.