PODCAST: How natural gas can pave the way to net zero

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Perhaps one of the most telling examples of the controversy surrounding natural gas – whether it really has a place within the energy transition – is that the EU is still trying to decide whether it should be labelled ‘green’ within the EU Taxonomy, writes affiliate title Infrastructure Investor.

There are plenty of infrastructure fund managers who continue to invest in it, Global Infrastructure Partners being one of them. The firm’s chairman and managing partner Adebayo Ogunlesi told delegates at Infrastructure Investor‘s Berlin Summit last October that “we believe in gas as a transition fuel”.

On the other hand, a growing number of LPs are saying they will no longer invest with managers who have any fossil fuel exposure. “We’re trying to minimise or avoid any exposure to fossil fuels,” NZ Super Fund senior adviser, infrastructure Josie McVitty told Infrastructure Investor in December. “Frankly, even in a diversified portfolio it would be very hard for us to invest with somebody that has any fossil fuel exposure, including gas.”

However, Energy Impact Partners, which focuses on investments aimed at transitioning to a low-carbon economy, has a more complex view. “The question is, can we use that resource in an increasingly clean manner?” asks Andy Lubershane, senior vice-president, research and strategy at the New York-based firm. “I think our general view is that the answer is ‘absolutely yes.'”

Listen above to find out why.