Germany urges EU to suspend methane rules after US pressure
Energy minister warns of risk to gas supplies if planned rules affecting imports come into force
Germany has called for the EU to suspend implementation of new rules on methane imports, after the US warned that the proposed crackdown on leaks and flares puts Europe’s gas supplies at risk.
Katherina Reiche, Germany’s energy minister, told journalists that Europe needs “at least a postponement or suspension” of plans to expand methane regulation to countries that import to the EU from January 2027. This would allow Germany to “safely supply itself with gas imports” but also kerosene, the base product for jet fuel, she said.
The US, Qatar and other oil and gas importers to Europe stepped up lobbying of the European Commission this week to rewrite the rules, saying that importers were “unwilling to enter into contractual agreements that knowingly violate EU law”.
Reiche’s comments came ahead of a meeting of energy ministers in Luxembourg on Friday, where 12 member states including Italy, the Netherlands and Poland called for a three-year suspension of the legislation. Germany had not signed the declaration but had previously called for the regulation to be implemented with “pragmatism”.
The calls for the suspension come as parts of Europe experience their hottest June on record, in a heatwave that scientists have warned has been exacerbated by climate change.
Methane is the main component of natural gas and more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over a 20-year period.
The EU’s methane regulation was adopted in 2024 to limit methane emissions from imports of energy to the bloc. It already requires EU producers to monitor and repair methane leaks and bans practices such as routine flaring, where gas leaks at oil and gas facilities are burned off instead of being captured. The regulation is due to extend to imported fossil fuels from January 2027.
Analysts are divided over whether the regulation will endanger Europe’s supplies of gas. Rystad Energy, commissioned by climate NGO EDF Europe, has said there are large volumes of oil and gas with high levels of methane reporting, although it says a system needs to be put in place to monitor those imports.
But Wood Mackenzie research backed by industry lobbies has suggested otherwise, projecting that many imports would not be compliant and risk a supply crunch, creating uncertainty among gas traders and companies.
Finnish energy minister Sari Multala, whose country does not support the suspension, told the FT that the concerns could have “more to do with foreign policy than energy policy”, as member states have faced sustained pressure from the US on the issue.
The Commission has said that member states could postpone the application of penalties for importers for three years, but companies have argued that they will not be legally covered if the legislation remains in place and this will hold back the signing of contracts for 2027.
On Friday, EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen told ministers the Commission would not amend the legislation as this “would only increase insecurity and uncertainty in the market”. But he said the Commission was working on further guidance to help industries and member states to demonstrate they comply with the rules.
Suspending the legislation could prove a lengthy process subject to legal challenge, given that it is already in force for domestic fossil fuel production.
However, guidance on penalties appears unlikely to satisfy Germany and other member states.
“The purchases for the quantities in 2027 are taking place now,” said Reiche. “We cannot risk our security of supply under any circumstances if the methane regulation remains in its current form.”