Pour la fin du financement de nouveaux terminaux dimportation de GNL en Europe

Reclaim Finance argues that Europe is developing excessive LNG import capacity despite falling gas consumption, leading to a high risk of stranded assets. The document specifically criticizes energy companies like ENGIE, Enel, and RWE for expanding infrastructure and signing long-term contracts that lock in fossil fuel dependency. It highlights that US-sourced LNG, which accounted for 46% of European imports in 2023, is particularly damaging due to hydraulic fracturing and methane leaks. The author calls on financial institutions, including Société Générale and BNP Paribas, to demand that these companies stop developing new terminals and cease signing long-term import contracts incompatible with a 1.5°C warming limit.

• Europe is experiencing a trend of LNG import overcapacity; while import capacities grew by 22% between 2021 and 2023 and are projected to increase by 62% by 2028 (relative to 2021), gas consumption fell by 19% and is expected to drop by 29% in the same 2021-2028 period.
• The utilization rate of LNG import terminals in the EU-27 declined significantly from 62% in June 2023 to 38% in June 2024.
• The expansion of LNG infrastructure risks creating stranded assets and increasing greenhouse gas emissions, with some LNG being more emissive than coal. Specifically, US LNG, which made up 46% of European imports in 2023, relies on hydraulic fracturing, resulting in emissions 20% to 45% higher than pipeline gas and 28% higher than coal due to methane leaks.
• Major energy companies are driving this expansion; ENGIE is planning extensions of the Montoir de Bretagne and Fos Cavaou terminals in France and signing import contracts extending beyond 2040.
• Financial institutions provide critical support to these projects primarily through corporate financing rather than project-specific financing. For ENGIE, top French banking supporters between 2021 and 2023 included Société Générale ($546 million), Crédit Agricole ($364 million), and BNP Paribas ($305 million).

APA

Martin, L. (2025). Pour la fin du financement de nouveaux terminaux dimportation de GNL en Europe. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/2025/02/03/pour-la-fin-du-financement-de-nouveaux-terminaux-dimportation-de-gnl-en-europe/

Chicago

Martin, Léo. Pour la fin du financement de nouveaux terminaux dimportation de GNL en Europe. Reclaim Finance, 2025. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/2025/02/03/pour-la-fin-du-financement-de-nouveaux-terminaux-dimportation-de-gnl-en-europe/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Martin |first1=Léo |title=Pour la fin du financement de nouveaux terminaux dimportation de GNL en Europe |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=3 February 2025 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/2025/02/03/pour-la-fin-du-financement-de-nouveaux-terminaux-dimportation-de-gnl-en-europe/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{martin2025pour, author = {Martin, Léo}, title = {{Pour la fin du financement de nouveaux terminaux dimportation de GNL en Europe}}, publisher = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/2025/02/03/pour-la-fin-du-financement-de-nouveaux-terminaux-dimportation-de-gnl-en-europe/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }