EIA and campaign partners debunk attempts to stall and dilute the EU’s landmark methane legislation

EIA and six other climate campaigning organisations have issued a joint rebuttal to attempts to delay and water down a vital new regulation addressing EU methane emissions.

The EU Methane Regulation, adopted in May last year, is a groundbreaking legal framework that sets out a global benchmark for methane emissions monitoring and mitigation for both domestically produced and imported fossil fuels.

Methane flaring

But against a backdrop of increasing geopolitical uncertainty, the Regulation has come under pressure from vested interests, with calls from the fossil fuel industry to delay and weaken the requirements, as detailed in a recent position paper by Eurogas, an association representing the European gas wholesale, retail and distribution sectors.

EIA, with input from NGOs with expertise on energy sector methane emissions, has now published a letter refuting the arguments put forward by Eurogas, arguing that:

• delays to the EU Methane Regulation are unnecessary and counterproductive
• the Regulation is unlikely to weaken Europe’s competitiveness
• the risks to energy security are minimal
• the timeline is reasonable by design, with sufficient time for adaptation
• the required measures are cost-effective and widely used by industry.

EIA Climate Campaigner Jack Corscadden said: “We and our campaign partners – the Center for Climate Crime Analysis, the Clean Air Task Force, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Ecodes, Legambiente and 2°C – will continue to defend the Regulation and look forward to working with the European Commission, Eurogas and other relevant stakeholders during its implementation.