The European Union has reached a deal on a law to combat methane emissions from fossil fuels, POLITICO reports.
The deal paves the way for rules on foreign energy suppliers such as the US.
EU government representatives in the Council of MEPs and came to an agreement on the bloc’s first-ever methane law early Wednesday morning, about two years after Brussels and Washington announced the Global Methane Pledge at COP26 in Glasgow.
The new law will require operators of fossil fuel infrastructure to measure and report methane emissions, and inspect regularly their facilities for leaks of this potent greenhouse gas. In addition, burning and venting will be banned in most cases by 2027.
The legislation also addresses imports, which account for about 80 per cent of EU oil and gas consumption. Also, companies importing oil and gas into the bloc will have to demonstrate that their supply chain has emission monitoring standards equivalent to those of the EU from 2027, according to POLITICO.
According to leading MEP Jutta Paulus, the Council and Parliament have asked the Commission to set methane emissions intensity limits for fossil fuels imported into the EU, with a view to penalising companies that fail to comply with the new limits from 2030.
Methane has more than 80 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide over two decades and is responsible for about 30 per cent of the global temperature rise. The law still has to be approved by parliament and EU countries, which is usually a formality.
