EU Moves to Delay Methane Fines After Industry Pressure

The European Union on Monday told member states to hold off imposing fines on oil and gas firms over planet-warming methane emissions for three years, after pressure to pause new rules. Importers of oil and gas are required to monitor and report on methane emissions from January under the reform aiming to reduce leaks of the powerful greenhouse gas.

A dozen of the EU's 27 nations called for a delay in implementation, saying the rules would narrow Europe's supplier base at a time when energy markets are still reeling from the US-Iran war. The call was backed by the United States, the bloc's biggest oil supplier. The European Commission, the EU's executive, in recommendations to member states stuck to the 2027 start date for the rules to come into effect. But Brussels said that countries should refrain from handing out fines until the end of 2029 to energy importers that fail to do their reporting.

It said the move would help to ensure "security of supply in a context of global energy markets tightness caused by the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the conflict in the Middle East." Environment activists have called on the EU to maintain its methane rules unchanged. The United Nations last month urged renewed efforts to reduce methane emissions, which account for one-third of greenhouse gas warming and are about 80 times more potent than CO2. The fossil fuel sector accounts for 35 percent of methane released by human activity, mainly via leaks, flaring and venting from oil and gas operations.