The EU Commission risks taking 2 steps forward, 1 step back.
#AccelerateEU backs renewables, grids & electrification. But short-term national relief packages for the energy crisis could enable new gas plant subsidies, locking us into higher bills & volatility.
Time to unlink gas and power, for good.

Gemeinsam gegen Gas

Visit the website now! gemeinsamgegengas.de

@umwelthilfe.bsky.social @fridaysforfuture.de @greenpeace.de @bund.net @fragdenstaat.de @gklimawende.bsky.social

Good news: we & our partners have launched the 1st interactive map tracking 🇩🇪's gas plans.
It’s a tool to expose what’s being built and support a growing alliance push back.
Bad news: we're not so excited that billions are still being poured into fossil gas...
beyondfossilfuels.org/2026/04/20/b...

UK households turn to solar panels as energy bills bite Fallout from Middle East crisis prompts more people to explore the alternative source of power

Solar is booming in the UK.
Rising energy bills saw sales jump 54% in March, with installed capacity now reaching 22GW, up 700x since 2010!
That's not just climate policy, it's people pushing for generating homegrown, decentralised electricity.
The shift is accelerating.
www.ft.com/content/5b45...

There is no coal comeback Talk of a 'coal comeback' in the wake of the blockade of the Persian Gulf are disproven by data showing coal generation is down globally.

Is coal really making a comeback? The data says no.
Coal power and generation is falling globally. Meanwhile, wind & solar added ~1100TWh in 2025 alone.
And even where coal is debated, its role is marginal. This isn't a coal comeback story, it’s a renewables story.
euobserver.com/211295/there...

1/🤔To be or not to be continued?

Our new report with Forum Energii explores this question in the context of the Just Transition Fund and its impact in Czechia, Germany, Greece, Poland, Romania and Spain.

bankwatch.org/wp-content/u...

The latest energy crisis is sending a clear signal to many European countries: fossil fuel dependence = price shocks.

France’s new electrification plan shows a clear response: scaling up renewables, heat pumps & EVs to cut gas use and say goodbye to fossil fuels.
www.euractiv.com/news/france-...

Scrapping the carbon tax might feel like short-term relief, but it only risks locking 🇮🇪 into more fossil fuels.
As former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar notes, it helps fund support for households and clean energy upgrades.
So cut fossil fuel dependence, not climate policy.
www.thetimes.com/world/irelan...

Ireland’s capacity market renewal One of Ireland’s key electricity supply mechanisms – the capacity market – is coming up for its 10-year renewal with the European Commission in May 2028. Without necessary interventions, there is a risk that it could add billions to household energy bills to support data centre electricity consumption; which could run in contradiction to EU state aid rules.  The Irish capacity market is already set to add over €7 billion to energy bills between 2018 and 2037, via contracts to companies paid through levies on energy bills. Over two thirds of this was awarded to fossil gas plants. In the context of soaring electricity demand from data centres, this total could be set to spiral. With Irish household energy bills having already increased by over €600 per year since 2020, families can ill-afford further price hikes. The renewal of Ireland’s capacity market comes at a moment of critical inflection for the country’s energy future. With new data centres driving up electricity demand, urgent steps need to be taken to limit this demand and ensure Ireland’s power sector emissions continue to fall. It will also be vital for compliance with EU regulations that data centres contribute proportionately for the strain they […]

Irish people are protesting soaring energy prices while 🇮🇪 subsidises fossil fuels through its capacity market, adding €7bn to energy bills from 2018 to 2037.

Consumers deserve protection from energy shocks, not fossil fuel profits.

Read more: beyondfossilfuels.org/2026/03/26/i...

🔀 There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
Each country has different needs and opportunities.
Swipe through the country snapshots and explore the full Brattle report → beyondfossilfuels.org/wp-content/u...

📅 A key moment is coming:
By July, EU countries must submit Flexibility Needs Assessments to the EU.
If done right, these plans can accelerate clean flexibility and cut reliance on fossil gas.
beyondfossilfuels.org/wp-content/u...

The good news: Europe has alternatives.
Clean flexibility, from demand response to storage, can replace gas while keeping grids stable as renewables grow.

Why does this matter?
Because fossil gas drove the 10× surge in electricity prices during the 2021–2022 energy crisis.
And the war in Iran is yet another stark reminder of the risks of relying on fossil fuels.

Europe could deploy 700+ GW of fossil-free flexibility by 2050, up from ~150 GW in 2030.
That’s nearly 4× Europe’s gas plant capacity today!
Reminder: clean flexibility CAN replace gas and keep power systems reliable.

The price of gas: the hidden costs of European banks' support for gas power expansion - Reclaim Finance European banks allocated US$41.9 billion to companies developing new gas power plants between 2021 and 2024.

Banks have allocated over $40 billion to companies developing new gas plants, locking Europe into more fossil fuel dependence.

The worst offenders ⬇️
Barclays
BNP Paribas
Santander

Banks: stop funding gas. Invest in renewables for affordable energy & cleaner air.
reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2026...

A reminder amid the noise: wind and solar outperformed fossil fuels in electricity supply last year.

The transition is still happening.

We need to get rid of volatile, costly gas that harms the planet, energy security and household energy bills!

Our take 👇

beyondfossilfuels.org/2026/03/17/r...

Europe risks “stranded renewables” ⚡

At least 120 GW of clean power is stuck due to grid constraints, with half of countries lacking capacity to connect new projects @ember-energy.org's new analysis shows.

Fixing grid access is critical for energy security.

ember-energy.org/latest-insig...

NEW | Europe could be leaving more than 120 GW of its planned renewables projects STRANDED due to constraints on grid capacity.

Amidst Europe’s second fossil price shock in four years, grid readiness could make or break the region’s energy security.
ember-energy.org/lat...

The AI climate hoax: behind the curtain of how big tech greenwashes impacts Beyond Fossil Fuels, together with external allies, including  Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD), Friends of the Earth U.S., Green Screen Coalition, Green Web Foundation, and Stand.earth, c...

ICYMI: Big Tech says AI can solve climate change. The actual data says not so fast. Learn why/how so many claims about AI’s climate benefit are a hoax:

➡️ beyondfossilfuels.org/2026/02/17/t...

Rachel Reeves to tell G7 accelerating shift to clean energy is best defence against energy price shocks Starmer to convene major energy industry and insurance figures to draw up emergency plans amid continued blockade of strait of Hormuz

“Staying stuck on the rollercoaster of global oil and gas prices will help nobody,” says Rachel Reeves to G7.

And returning to coal, like 🇮🇹 and maybe 🇩🇪, is an archaic step backwards.

Renewables work and "that transition is strongest when countries act together."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

🇮🇹 is delaying its coal phaseout from 2025 to 2038, keeping some of its oldest, dirtiest power plants alive for electricity that only provides <1% of supply.
Doubling down on fossil fuels in the name of “energy security” is a lose-lose strategy.
beyondfossilfuels.org/2026/03/30/i...

Irish households are already struggling with soaring energy bills.
But data centres’ exploding electricity demand is making things worse.
Consumers are paying through levies that fund capacity subsidies while Big Tech profits from the AI boom.
We break it down 👇
beyondfossilfuels.org/2026/03/26/i...

Italy could replace Qatari LNG in one year with renewables and energy efficiency - ECCO Within twelve months, Italy could replace over 85% of its demand for Qatari gas through renewables, energy efficiency and electrification.

In a year, 🇮🇹 could replace >85% of its Qatari gas demand with renewables, energy efficiency & electrification, finds @eccoclimate.bsky.social.
The last 15%? Existing import infrastructure, spare capacity & capturing methane from flaring & venting — no new gas needed.
eccoclimate.org/italy-could-...

Today's energy crisis shows the risk of imported fossil fuels, so why plan even more gas in 🇪🇺?
🇩🇪: the need for gas disappears when storage & flexibility are included.
🇵🇱: batteries are already beating gas in capacity auctions.
🇪🇸: wind & solar cut gas dependence.
beyondfossilfuels.org/2026/03/24/f...

🇬🇧 Energy secretary Ed Miliband says the Iran war shows clean power is “essential” as the UK announces measures to ramp up solar and heat pumps for households.
From 2028, no new homes will join the gas network, and solar panels will cover 40% of ground floor space.
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Electricity market integration can't come at our planet's expense.
Without strong environmental safeguards, cross-border power trade risks locking in pollution instead of accelerating clean energy.
A truly integrated market is clean, compliant, fossil-free.
New @ceebankwatch.bsky.social #CBAM blog 👇

A year after the Iberian blackout, the verdict is clear: grid failure, NOT renewables, was the root cause of the incident.
And today, amidst a fresh energy crisis, it's also clear renewables are protecting 🇪🇸 consumers from price spikes.
Read the ENTSO-E report 👇
www.entsoe.eu/news/2026/03...

Our new report explores:
👉Key clean flexibility solutions
👉Benefits for households, consumers & governments
👉Real-world gas-free systems
👉Country-specific opportunities in 🇬🇧 UK, 🇲🇪 Montenegro, 🇵🇹 Portugal, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇪🇸Spain

Read the full report 👇
🔗 beyondfossilfuels.org/wp-content/u...

The scale is huge: Europe’s clean flexibility capacity could grow from ~150 GW in 2030 to nearly 4× the current gas capacity by 2050.
In other words: Europe can definitely replace fossil gas with clean flexibility while keeping the lights on.

But what IS clean flexibility — in general, and for you?
It’s the power system’s ability to balance supply and demand. Historically, gas provided flexibility. Today, batteries, pumped hydro, EV smart charging, and demand-side response do the job… without fossil fuels.