As the “follow the governance” approach and methodology was coming into shape, I started researching the governance system behind natural gas in Europe, as a case study to test and refine the FTG methodology.

I believe natural gas is a particularly relevant and useful topic to research given the fact that the extraction, processing, distribution and use of fossil fuels are the main contributing factor to the climate crisis our and future generations are facing. If European countries are to meet the Paris Agreement they adopted in 2015, as well as other climate commitments, they need to reduce the use of fossil fuel. And, in fact, demand for natural gas in Europe had been decreasing for years, and fossil fuel companies had reportedly been unable to convince European governments to invest in new gas infrastructure.

However, right after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 (and even before that, as tensions between Russia and most EU countries were rising), fossil fuel companies were able to quickly negotiate and sign long-term contracts with EU and national public authorities to invest in new gas infrastructure, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), which in some places is mostly obtained by fracking (a controversial practice with potentially very negative environmental impacts) and of which the US is one of the biggest beneficiaries as the world’s top exporter.

After those contracts were signed, and with new pipelines and LNG import terminals planned to be built, demand for natural gas in Europe has kept decreasing, and it’s been estimated that “the combined capacity of Europe’s LNG terminals could be three times higher than its expected LNG demand by the end of the decade“. That’s also why I believe that we should research the governance system behind natural gas in Europe: so that we can publish the relevant information and data in a systematic and structured way, and for the public to know about and understand it, and be able to think critically and have informed discussions about it.

Some of the particular questions driving this research are_

• who funded, who built and who owns and operates pipelines, LNG terminals and other gas infrastructure in Europe?
• what new infrastructure is now planned to be developed, and how were the political decision-making processes that led to their approval?
• who is funding, who is building and who will own and operate this new planned gas infrastructure?
• how much public money has been, directly and indirectly, subsidising gas infrastructure in Europe, and how much more public money will subsidise the new planned infrastructure?
• how much revenue and profits have gas companies been generating in the last years, and how much money they have distributed among their shareholders?, and how is that related to their investment in renewable energy and the taxes they do pay?
• what are the data in gas extraction, storage and consumption for the last few decades?, how does it relate to other energy sources, including renewable energy?
• what are the key norms regulating the gas industry in Europe?, and what are the key established practices?, including those connected to Investor-State Dispute Settlement treaties (like the Energy Charter Treaty)
• who benefits from such norms and practices and who loses out?
• are local communities affected by gas infrastructure consulted and compensated?
• what are the realistically expected CO2e emissions for the next years and few decades from the existing and planned gas infrastructure in Europe?, how does that relate to European countries’ and the EU’s climate pledges?
• have there been or are there ongoing court cases connected to natural gas in Europe?

As of July 2024, I am working on this research, and considering talking to colleagues about the possibility of launching an FTG cross-border investigation into natural gas in Europe, with the aim of producing_

• investigative explainers providing an overview of the governance system
• a timeline of the main events and decisions that shaped this governance
• a mappings of actors and responsibilities
• a mapping of existing and planned infrastructure and operations
  • as well as their beneficiaries and expected CO2e emissions and other negative impacts
• a mapping of norms and established practices

Finally, and as of right now, I am thinking of the best and most practical way to make my own work documents about this research publicly available, so that other journalists and researchers can use them, adapt them, criticise them and contribute to them (see the “what next” page to read about what I’m generally planning to do regarding FTG).