BRUSSELS — The European Commission has told governments to suspend enforcement of landmark EU rules governing methane emissions for three years, according to new guidance approved Monday, following a sustained campaign by member countries and industry to delay them.
The guidance recommends that national authorities ignore any breaches of new rules coming into effect in January that will require companies to monitor, verify and trace emissions of methane — one of the world’s most potent greenhouse gases.
Industry, backed by the U.S. and a large group of member countries, has warned that key criteria for verifying and certifying cargoes are still missing, meaning the rules will be impossible to comply with in time, disrupting EU energy supplies. They have called on the commission to reopen negotiations on the rules and delay them by up to three years.
The three-year “grace period” doesn’t go as far as reopening the rules but aims to give industry breathing space to build out the necessary compliance infrastructure.
