Veille 2.1

Investments of more than half a trillion euros will be needed to modernise Europe's energy grid this decade, if countries are to succeed in ramping up wind and solar power to break free from Russian gas, a draft EU document showed. The European Commission is set to publish next week a plan to "digitalise" Europe's energy system, as well as laying out new emergency measures to tame sky-high gas prices and help cash-strapped energy firms this winter. The draft plan, seen by Reuters, said electricity grid investments of 584 billion euros are needed until 2030, to support the planned rapid uptake of electric vehicles, renewable energy and heat pumps, and shift away from fossil fuels. Of this, around 400 billion euros would target the distribution grid. Some 170 billion of that would focus on ditigalisation, including the so-called "smart grids" that respond faster to local supply and demand fluctuations, helping waste less energy and benefit from cheaper periods.

The potent greenhouse gas methane is spewing out of natural gas infrastructure across the European Union because of leaks and venting. Using an infrared camera, non-profit Clean Air Task Force (CATF) found methane seeping into the atmosphere at 123 oil and gas sites in several countries this year. Methane, the biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide (CO2), is the main component of natural gas and over 80 times more potent than CO2 in its first 20 years in the air.