EUROPE GAS TRACKER REPORT 2024

The Europe Gas Tracker Report 2024 by Global Energy Monitor analyzes the ongoing expansion of gas infrastructure in Europe. Despite a decrease in gas demand and a shift toward renewables, the region continues to plan and build LNG terminals and pipelines, which the report argues creates significant financial risk, environmental damage, and infrastructure overcapacity.

• Europe is continuing a massive gas infrastructure buildout despite emerging from its energy crisis. There are currently 248.7 bcm/y of new LNG import capacity and 16,491 km of new gas transmission pipelines in development, with an estimated total cost of €84.1 billion. If completed, these projects would increase the region's total gas import capacity by 55%.
• The planned expansion is deemed unnecessary due to existing overcapacity and declining demand. In 2023, Europe's LNG import capacity (318.7 bcm/y) was nearly double its LNG demand (167 bcm). If all planned projects are built by 2030, import capacity (567.5 bcm/y) could exceed forecasted demand (134.7 bcm) by more than a factor of four.
• New gas infrastructure poses a significant threat to the European Union's climate goals. Projects already under construction could add 195 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per year, which is equivalent to the emissions of 50 coal plants. If all proposed projects are included, annual emissions could increase six-fold to 1.1 gigatonnes CO2e, roughly a quarter of Europe's 2020 emissions.
• Germany, Italy, and Greece are the primary drivers of this buildout, accounting for half of the total estimated costs (€45.3 billion). Germany has the most LNG import capacity in development in Europe at 89.9 bcm/y, while Greece has the most pipeline length planned at 2,795 km.
• There is a parallel plan to build 35,000 km of hydrogen transmission pipelines, including the European Hydrogen Backbone. The report argues this may be a "red herring" to justify continued gas infrastructure, as methane pipelines are largely unsuitable for hydrogen and blending hydrogen into gas turbines offers minimal emissions reductions (a 20% hydrogen blend only reduces methane usage by 7%).
• Some signs of waning interest in LNG appeared in 2023 through project setbacks. Specifically, 17.6 bcm/y of LNG import capacity has been shelved and at least 60.6 bcm/y has been delayed. Examples include the Shannon FSRU in Ireland, the Skulte LNG Terminal in Latvia, and a second planned FSRU in Poland.

APA

Rozansky, R., & Hassan, H. (2024). EUROPE GAS TRACKER REPORT 2024. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_Europe_Gas_Tracker_2024_35.pdf

Chicago

Rozansky, Robert, and Harvey Hassan. EUROPE GAS TRACKER REPORT 2024. Global Energy Monitor, 2024. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_Europe_Gas_Tracker_2024_35.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rozansky |first1=Robert |last2=Hassan |first2=Harvey |title=EUROPE GAS TRACKER REPORT 2024 |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=March 2024 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_Europe_Gas_Tracker_2024_35.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rozansky2024europe, author = {Rozansky, Robert and Hassan, Harvey}, title = {{EUROPE GAS TRACKER REPORT 2024}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_Europe_Gas_Tracker_2024_35.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }