The European Union is aiming to suspend penalties for companies that violate new methane rules after the Trump administration pressured them to ease the regulations.
The Trump administration argued to the European Commission that many companies found the rules too difficult to comply with as currently written. The penalties can be up to 20% of a company’s annual revenue but would not come into effect until 2030.
“The EU requires companies to monitor and report on methane emissions for oil, natural gas and coal they import, and is set to eventually cap the amount of methane that can be emitted for each unit of imported energy,” Kim Mackrael writes for the Wall Street Journal. “The bloc wants to reduce emissions of methane because it is a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere.”
“Industry groups and some of the EU’s biggest energy suppliers say the rules are too onerous and could make it harder for the bloc to meet its needs.
Disruptions to oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have added to concerns in import-reliant Europe, where high prices are kneecapping companies’ ability to compete with the U.S. and China.”
Read more in the Wall Street Journal.
