EU methane rules for fuel imports pushed back to 2028

The EU methane rules for oil and gas imports will start a year late under a plan the European Commission unveiled on Wednesday.

Originally, the measures were set to apply from the start of 2027. They would force foreign oil and gas companies selling to the bloc to track and disclose their methane leaks.

After carbon dioxide, methane does more to heat the planet than any other gas. Much of it escapes from leaky pipelines, wells and plants around the world.

How the EU methane rules would change

Under the revised EU methane rules, importers would get until May 31, 2029, to show that fuel brought in during 2028 met monitoring standards equivalent to EU rules. In practice, foreign suppliers would need to hand over that data.

The Commission said the postponement covers only the import-related parts of the law. Under the original timetable, foreign suppliers would have had to begin reporting from January 2027. The delay, it added, aims to “avoid additional pressures on the security of supply” at a tense geopolitical moment.

However, the change is not yet law. Member states and the European Parliament must first negotiate and sign off on it.

Supply fears drive the delay

The EU methane rules were a world first, yet they have faced mounting resistance since the Iran war shook global energy markets. It also fuelled fears of fuel shortages this winter.

Back in June, the United States, the largest LNG supplier to Europe, cautioned that the law could interrupt deliveries. Oil giant ExxonMobil supported that warning.

Then, last month, French President Emmanuel Macron asked Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a letter to postpone the measures. According to Macron, the rules could expose fuel importers to legal risk.

Backers of a delay say overseas producers are not ready to comply. Therefore, they argue, some sellers could send LNG elsewhere rather than risk penalties in Europe.

About a dozen member states had pressed for a pause or a rollback. Czechia and Italy want a three-year postponement and could fight for it in the final negotiations.

One year and no more

Earlier this month, the energy commissioner, Dan Jorgensen, said the bloc would delay the rules by one year at most. “We do not foresee this to be more than one year,” he told the European Parliament.

He also said governments must be ready to enforce the law once the extra year runs out.

Nevertheless, some EU officials have said it is difficult to judge whether the rules really affect energy contracts, because companies rarely publish the details of those deals.

For climate campaigners, the move marks a step back. Still, the EU methane rules remain in place, and the Commission insists that the new deadline will hold.

Before the proposal, Jorgensen said he had asked his services to study a delay of the import provisions only. The Commission has framed the move as a short pause linked to current supply worries, rather than a retreat from the law itself.