The EU sustainable finance taxonomy adopted in July 2020 provides a framework for sustainable investments to meet the EU's climate and energy targets. Recently, a draft of the potential criteria that would be used to define what counts as sustainable, or green, investments in power generation was leaked. The proposed criteria for new gas plants are either that they utilize carbon capture sequestration (CCS), or if they do not, that they meet the following criteria:

1. They have an emissions intensity of <270 gCO2e/kWh thanks to the use of low-carbon or renewable gas over 20 years or GHG emissions are below 550grCO2/KW over 20 years.
2. They replace closing coal or oil plants
3. They receive a construction permit before end 2030
4. They have capped running hours

Given this information, how do you quantify the potential for green investments in natural gas power generation in the EU? For the infographic below, we looked at:

• How much new natural gas power generation will be required from now through 2030?
• What companies have the largest opportunity for coal replacement?
• What countries have the largest opportunity for coal replacement?
• How many existing facilities operate at the targeted intensity level?

For more information on exploration of green investments, visit our Corporate Emissions Solution and Global Power and Renewables service pages.

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Bob MacKnight is a vice president at the Climate and Sustainability practice at IHS Markit.

Posted on 18 January 2022

This article was published by S&P Global Commodity Insights and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.