EU lawmakers adopt law to hit fossil fuel imports with methane emissions limit

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union lawmakers on Wednesday adopted a law to place methane emission limits on Europe’s oil and gas imports from 2030, pressuring international suppliers to clamp down on leaks of the potent greenhouse gas.

Methane, the main component of natural gas, is the second-biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide and in the short term has a far higher warming effect. Rapid cuts in methane emissions this decade are crucial if the world is to avoid severe climate change.

“The EU is finally fighting the climate killer methane,” Green lawmaker Jutta Paulus, the EU Parliament’s co-lead negotiator, said in a statement.

“The first European law to reduce the second most important greenhouse gas will make an important contribution to achieving the EU climate target and fulfilling the commitments in the Global Methane Pledge.”

The import rules – which will impose limits on “methane intensity values” from 2030 on producers sending fossil fuels into the EU – are likely to hit major gas suppliers which include the United States, Algeria and Russia.

Moscow slashed deliveries to Europe last year and has since been replaced as Europe’s biggest pipeline gas supplier by Norway, whose supply has among the world’s lowest methane intensity.

The law now also has to be formally adopted by the European Council, before being published in the EU Official Journal and will be entering into force 20 days later.