EU strikes deal to curb methane emissions in oil, gas supply

European Union negotiators struck a deal to curb methane releases from fossil-fuel infrastructure and plotted a course to monitor and limit the emissions associated with imported energy sources.

EU lawmakers and member states reached a provisional political agreement to require energy companies to regularly check infrastructure including wells and pipelines for leaks of methane, the Council of the EU and the European Council said in a statement. The potent greenhouse gas – the main component of natural gas – has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the atmosphere and is responsible for approximately 30 per cent of the Earth’s warming.

The deal is notable because monitoring, reporting and verification measures will eventually be applied to imports, which account for more than 90 per cent of the 27-nation bloc’s oil and gas. The agreement is the latest in a series of global efforts targeting methane cuts, which scientists say is one of the cheapest and most powerful ways to reduce rising temperatures in the short term.

The new EU rules could eventually affect where it sources its oil and gas, and operators that are unable or unwilling to halt their methane emissions may find themselves with shrinking market share. Releases of methane from pipeline gas tend to be higher than for LNG, mainly due to activities in producing countries, according to Berkley Research Group.

Negotiators agreed that by 2027, importers will have to demonstrate equivalent monitoring, reporting and verification requirements at production level. After the regulations have been in force for three years, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, would propose placing methane intensity classes for crude oil, natural gas and coal at the level of the producer or company.

While that stops short of an obligation to slash emissions, negotiators said it would still spur action globally. The deal comes two weeks before countries meet in Dubai for the COP28 climate summit, where tackling methane is likely to be one of the main issues.

“The extension to imports, which was my main priority in the parliament’s position, will have repercussions worldwide,” said Jutta Paulus, the green lawmaker who led negotiations from the European parliament. “I am very pleased that we will go to the UN climate conference in Dubai with full hands.”