EU methane regulation adopted

On April 10th 2024 the European Parliament adopted the agreement reached in negotiations with the Commission and Member States for a new EU methane regulation. The Council has already given its approval to the new regulation. For the first time, the European Union will have a law that aims to reduce the second most important greenhouse gas.

Jutta Paulus, the European Parliament’s rapporteur in the Committee on Industry, Energy and Research, comments: „With the new EU methane regulation, the EU is finally fighting the climate killer methane. 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 methane regulation strengthens Europe’s energy sovereignty by banning the routine venting and flaring of gas as far as possible.”

Press Background: https://www.jutta-paulus.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/231115_Press-Briefing-EU-Methane-Regulation_after-finale-Trilogue.pdf

Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and is responsible for 24 percent of global warming. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees can only be achieved with rapid and effective measures to reduce methane. In the energy sector, 75 percent of methane emissions could be reduced without additional costs. At the initiative of the European Union and others, more than 100 countries committed to the Global Methane Pledge at the 2021 and 2022 UN climate conferences: The goal is to reduce methane emissions by at least 30 percent by 2030.