EU: fines on methane suspended for 3 years, between geopolitics and climate

Under European legislation adopted in 2024, importers of gas, oil and coal in the EU will have to monitor and report methane emissions associated with their supplies from January 2027, to limit losses of this greenhouse gas. This law is opposed in particular by Qatar and the United States, important suppliers of hydrocarbons to Europe.

About ten European countries, including Italy and the Netherlandshad also requested a three-year extension of all anti-methane regulations, fearing a reduction in the number of European suppliers at a time when the energy market is still shaken by the war in the Middle East.

In a recommendation presented today, the European Commission maintains the 2027 deadline for the legislation to come into force, while offering some flexibility to companies.

Advise European states to suspend the sanctions until the end of 2029 provided for by the regulation for importers of fossil fuels who do not comply with the reporting obligations of methane emissions. The European Commission justifies this recommendation by citing the geopolitical situation caused by the war in the Middle East.

“The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed,” which “limits diverse crude oil and gas supply options,” he points out.

The EU is heavily dependent on hydrocarbons from abroad. In 2024, it imported nearly 60% of all energy consumed. Even if the Union does not completely postpone its anti-methane law, environmental organizations criticize this suspension of sanctions.

In a letter sent to the Commission at the end of April, around twenty NGOs, including Friends of the Earthcalled for the “rapid implementation” of this legislation, without any changes. Furthermore, for two years environmentalists have been denouncing, more generally, the dismantling of environmental regulations adopted during the previous mandate of Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.

Last month the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterrescalled for a renewed commitment to reduce methane emissions. About 60% of global emissions of methane, an odorless and invisible gas, are attributable to human activity, mainly agriculture, followed by the energy sector.