EU Commission plans to delay methane import rules by a year
A Commission spokesperson says a postponement will be proposed, as energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen weighs pushing the deadline to 2028
Published
An EU Commission spokesperson said the Commission plans to propose a postponement of the entry into force of the methane regulation, the bloc's first framework dedicated to cutting methane emissions in the energy sector, which took effect in August 2024.
Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said he has asked his teams to assess a one-year delay to the part of the regulation covering imports of hydrocarbons, according to a Bloomberg interview reported by energynews.pro. The provisions under review are obligations that gas and oil importers into the EU must meet from January 2027, and Jorgensen said the bloc could push that deadline to 2028, Bloomberg reported. Companies found non-compliant under the current rules could face fines of up to 20% of annual turnover, according to Rigzone.
This would not be the first softening of the regulation. Earlier this year the Commission already recommended a three-year delay to penalties for non-compliance, after pressure from a dozen governments and major exporting nations led by the US, Rigzone reported. French President Emmanuel Macron wrote to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier this month urging a postponement, according to Rigzone. Jorgensen's team said no final decision has been taken and no legislative proposal is yet on the table, energynews.pro reported. The issue is expected to come up when EU energy ministers meet informally in Dublin next week, Rigzone reported.
A delay would ease near-term compliance pressure on Europe's energy and industrial sectors at a time when the Commission is already managing competing priorities, including support for Ukraine and trade talks with China and India. For companies exposed to the rules, it would remove a source of near-term operational and capital spending pressure, and reflects a Commission willing to show flexibility on climate deadlines when circumstances press it to.