EU agrees on first-ever law to curb methane emissions

The European Union struck a deal on a law to tackle methane emissions from fossil fuels, paving the way to impose rules on the bloc’s foreign energy suppliers like the United States.

MEPs and EU governments in the Council found agreement on the bloc’s first-ever methane regulation in the early hours of Wednesday morning, some two years after Brussels and Washington launched the Global Methane Pledge at COP26 in Glasgow.

The law will force operators of fossil fuel infrastructure to measure and report methane emissions and to regularly check their sites for leaks of the powerful greenhouse gas. It also outlaws most cases of flaring and venting by 2027.

The legislation also addresses imports, which make up about 80 percent of the EU’s oil and gas consumption — requiring companies importing oil and gas into the bloc to demonstrate that their supply chain has emissions monitoring standards equivalent to the EU’s from 2027.

The Council and the Parliament requested the Commission set methane intensity limits for fossil fuels imported into the EU, with a view of imposing penalties on companies that don’t comply with the new limits from 2030, lead MEP Jutta Paulus said.

Methane has more than 80 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide over two decades and is responsible for about 30 percent of the rise in global temperatures.

The law still requires approval from the Parliament and EU countries, usually a formality.