A new law limiting methane emissions on Europe’s oil and gas imports from 2030 has been adopted by EU lawmakers.
The rubber-stamping of the law follows EU policymakers reaching a political agreement on the EU Methane Regulation back in November. The European Parliament’s vote was approved with 530 votes in favour and 63 votes against.
Kim O’Dowd, climate campaigner at the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), said: “Methane has long been overlooked.
“While the ultimate goal remains the phase-out of fossil fuels, swift action to address methane emissions from this sector is crucial for the EU to achieve its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030.”
The new rules set out a framework for monitoring and reducing the emissions within the EU, with a particular focus on data gathering.
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“The EU is finally fighting the climate killer methane,” 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 new import rules – which will impose limits on methane intensity values from 2030 on producers sending fossil fuels into the EU – are expect to hit the US, Russia and other significant gas suppliers.
In November last year, the European Union unveiled laws to ban carbon neutral claims, aiming to protect consumers against greenwashing.
