HomeNewsU.S. presses EU to align methane regulations for LNG

U.S. presses EU to align methane regulations for LNG

12/23/2024
  • Biden administration seeks EU alignment on methane standards
  • EU law requires all oil and gas imports to meet emissions limits
  • Obtaining "equivalence" for U.S. EPA rules could cement them even as Trump takes office

U.S. officials doubled down on their appeal to EU counterparts to ensure liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments that meet current U.S. methane regulations also automatically comply with Europe's new standards for gas imports, a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday showed.

President Joe Biden's administration sent a second letter to Ditte Juul Jørgensen, EU Director-General for Energy on Dec. 17, to speed up support for its case that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules should be deemed "equivalent" to the EU regulations, whose emissions reporting requirements begin to kick in in 2025.

European Union countries approved a law in May to impose methane emissions limits on Europe's oil and gas imports from 2030, pressuring international suppliers to cut leaks of the potent greenhouse gas.

Linking U.S. and EU methane standards would safeguard the United States' growing LNG trade with Europe while also cementing Biden's strict rules on methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, even if they are eventually repealed by President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration.

"The letter is meant to emphasize in detail the full suite of substantive emissions standards, their robust implementation and compliance, and the reporting requirements' role in ensuring transparency and accountability," EPA Assistant Administrator for air and radiation Joe Goffman told Reuters.

Goffman co-signed the letter with Brad Crabtree, assistant secretary at the Energy Department's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. They sent their first letter to the EU at the end of October, just days before the U.S. election.

The United States is the world's top oil and gas producer, and its exports of LNG surged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine led European countries to cut their dependence on Russian energy and seek other sources.

The DOE has paused permits for new LNG exports and said this week it had found that rising LNG exports risk dramatically raising greenhouse gas emissions and could also trigger price hikes for U.S. energy consumers.

 

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