Brussels proposes delaying methane rules for energy imports
The European Commission wants importers of oil, gas and coal to prove compliance with EU methane rules a year later than planned. Environmental groups pushed back sharply.
Symbolic image · Photo: Stephane Lesbats (IFREMER, Pôle Images, Centre Bretagne - ZI de la Pointe du Diable - CS 10070 - 29280 Plouzané, France) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a one-year delay to EU methane rules for energy imports. Companies importing oil, gas and coal from outside the bloc would have until May 31, 2029, to prove their supplies meet equivalent EU standards. The requirement would start applying in 2028 instead of January 2027. Some member states had pushed for a three-year delay, which the Commission did not adopt.
The rules, adopted in May 2024, require measuring, reporting and verifying emissions in the energy sector. Importers complain of legal uncertainty and the difficulty of gathering data from producers along long supply chains. French President Emmanuel Macron urged Ursula von der Leyen in a letter not to weaken European production capacity, and the United States, the EU's largest supplier of liquefied natural gas, has repeatedly criticized the rules.
Environmental groups reacted sharply. Jack Corscadden of the Environmental Investigation Agency said the Commission "is failing European citizens by delaying this vital piece of climate legislation." Esther Bollendorff of Climate Action Network Europe said curbing methane could unlock more than 40 billion cubic meters of gas. The proposal needs approval from the European Parliament and member states; EU leaders are due to discuss it at their Brussels summit.