BRUSSELS — The EU will soon recommend a light-touch approach to new rules governing planet-warming methane emissions, which European leaders and industry lobbyists say have made it harder to shore up new supplies amid the Iran war.
In a closed door meeting with national energy officials on Thursday, the EU executive said it would soon issue new guidelines outlining how companies can comply with the rules without jeopardizing security of supply, according to a person familiar with the matter. POLITICO reported earlier this week that guidelines on “pragmatic enforcement” of the regulation would be coming soon.
The flagship rules, set to come into effect next January, will require that imports to the bloc are aligned with European emissions standards starting in January next year, or that they align with a voluntary industry standard.
But fossil fuel executives both inside and outside the EU claim the laws around methane — a potent greenhouse gas that is a major cause of global warming — will be almost impossible to comply with due to tough penalties and monitoring requirements, risking supply shortages. They say hasty implementation could exacerbate the growing difficulties resulting from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that transits a fifth of the world’s crude oil.
