Business poll shows no room for new gas in the power system
Molly Walton, Director of Energy at We Mean Business Coalition, Samora Levy, Senior Policy Advisor, Coal to Clean, E3G, and Claire Smith, Senior International Campaigner, Beyond Fossil Fuels.
At the recent International Energy Agency (IEA) energy security summit in London, most governments were united in backing clean energy. UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband called the transition unstoppable, saying, “It’s no longer just a climate reason but also an energy security reason.” EU president Ursula von der Leyen argued that “clean homegrown renewables” strengthen resilience – pre-empting the bloc’s announcement last week that it would halt all imports of Russian gas by 2027. While the US and a small number of countries continued to push oil and gas, for most attendees the question was not if the transition to clean energy would happen but how and how fast.
Polled business leaders are clear on the answer: there needs to be a rapid and direct shift to a renewables-based electricity system. A landmark poll of nearly 1,500 business leaders globally published to coincide with the IEA Summit revealed strong, cross-sector business support for a rapid shift from fossil fuel power generation to renewables-based electricity. This sends a powerful message to governments to phase out coal and gas, and transition directly to a renewables-based grid.
Business leaders globally see renewable energy as crucial for economic growth, energy security, and long-term competitiveness. Two-thirds (67%) of executives want coal phased out and replaced with renewables, grids and storage- without locking in new gas infrastructure.
Even in gas-reliant nations like Mexico, Italy, and Japan, businesses favour a direct transition from fossil fuels to renewables-based electricity. In the United States, home to the world’s fourth largest proven gas deposits, 76% of executives would rather see a direct transition to renewables over gas.
No business appetite for gas
It’s a powerful signal that so many business leaders don’t see a future for gas in the power sector.
There are a myriad of reasons why calling time on fossil gas makes sense, from emissions and economics to geopolitical risks. A recent study found that liquified natural gas (LNG) has a 33% higher emissions footprint than coal when methane leaks are considered. It is also a large emitter of methane – a greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than CO₂ (on a 20-year timescale) and a major accelerator of climate change. From a cost standpoint, the economics of gas and other fossil fuels don’t stack up. According to IRENA, of the record 473 GW of new renewable capacity added in 2023 globally, 81% of newly commissioned, utility-scale renewable projects had lower costs than their fossil fuel-fired alternatives. And there are significant delays for new gas turbines which now stretch past 2029, slowing down the development of new gas projects in some markets. In February 2025, French multinational electric utility Engie announced its withdrawal from a major gas project for two new gas plants as part of a Texas energy program due to “equipment procurement constraints”.
As a global commodity, gas also poses serious energy security risks. As one of the most geopolitically sensitive commodities, gas prices are highly volatile. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine underscored this point, triggering global price shocks, deepening affordability or ‘cost-of-living’ crises for many worldwide. Europe was particularly hard hit—gas prices surged by 180% in just two weeks, according to the European Central Bank.
Business executives understand the risks and want the rewards of a renewables-based system
97% of mid-market and large company leaders back a move away from fossil fuels, including gas. Business leaders recognize that renewables outperform on cost, emissions, and energy security. In Japan (54%), South Korea (49%) and Germany (46%), executives are already awake to the energy security risks of gas dependency. Domestic renewable resources by contrast can deliver more stability and security than gas as they reduce reliance on continued imports, enhance the resiliency of power systems, mitigate price shocks and diversify generation sources.
It is no surprise then that executives are now planning a shift within their own operations. Two-thirds (66%) plan to transition away from using gas by 2035. In countries where gas plays a significant role in power generation, the share of businesses that plan to transition away from using gas power in their own operations within the next decade is particularly high in the United Kingdom (76%) and Mexico (75%). Meanwhile in Italy (66%), Korea (66%) and the United States (60%), the number is still relatively high, similar to the global average of respondents (66%).
Governments must play their part
Expensive, volatile gas prices are hurting households and industry. A renewables-based grid, paired with storage and supported by a market design and rules that boost renewables, better protect consumers and safeguard competitiveness is the cleanest, cheapest and fastest way to drive equitable economic development, strengthen energy security and lower bills. Fossil gas is not a climate solution or a sustainable energy source – it’s a dead end.
The results of this poll show that business leaders want a rapid transition away from fossil fuels to a renewables-based electricity system dominated by wind and solar because they recognize that climate risk is business risk. They understand that energy security, economic growth and competitiveness depend on a stable and sustainable power system, something gas cannot provide.
They need policymakers to keep pace. This is the moment for governments to lay out clear, investible roadmaps – ensuring upcoming new national climate plans include thought-through policy frameworks for the phase out of fossil fuels and upscaling of renewables, as well as scaling up incentives, and ensuring support for workers and communities. To enable businesses to take the decisions they deem to be the right ones means that governments must prioritize efficiency, demand side flexibility and batteries, and modernise systems operations.
Governments that fail to signal a rapid transition via robust policies and plans, risk losing investment and jobs to nations that provide reliable renewable power. This is an economic race, and governments that don’t act will be left behind.