US lawmakers urge von der Leyen not to give in to oil and gas lobbyists and defend EU methane rules
A week after 12 EU member states pressured the European Commission into pausing the bloc’s methane import rules, a group of US lawmakers have written to commission president Ursula von der Leyen urging her to hold the line.
US oil and gas companies and the senior members of the Donald Trump administration have lobbied hard to weaken the rule, and have been increasingly successful in winning EU support.
But the lawmakers write that “maintaining” the rules for all suppliers including those in the US is “essential” for both EU energy security and global climate goals and urged the commission “to ensure timely implementation and, above all, to preserve its ambition.”
The letter, dated 1 July and seen by EUobserver, was put together by Sean Casten, vice-chair of Congress’ environmental coalition, a caucus of roughly 100 House Democrats, and co-signed by four fellow representatives.
A spokesperson said “more congressional support is expected in the coming weeks” adding that “this core group chose to send their letter early to underscore the critical stakes.”
‘A defining test’
At last Friday’s (26 June) energy council in Luxembourg, a Czech-led group of member states, including the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and Belgium, pushed the commission to suspend the regulation’s import provisions for three years, citing legal uncertainty and supply risk.
The US lawmakers pushed back on that narrative, citing recent research from Norwegian market analyst Rystad Energy, which found “no credible evidence” that the regulation is driving current price increases or supply pressures.
That same research found EU-compliant gas supply could reach roughly three times EU demand next year, although in a later clarification the group said it hadn't looked at the risk that some suppliers might reroute supplies over legal uncertainty (a risk yet another analyst doubted.)
The letter was sent following a visit to Brussels and Strasbourg as part of a congressional delegation from 15 to 17 June, where they met with European Parliament president Roberta Metsola, commission executive vice-president Teresa Ribera, climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, and MEPs working on energy, environment and trade.
In those meetings, they kept hearing the "remarkably consistent message" that the methane regulation "has become a defining test of Europe's ability to maintain ambitious climate and energy policies in the face of mounting geopolitical and commercial pressure."
Methane is the main component of natural gas, and more than 80 times as potent a driver of global warming as carbon dioxide is, (the stuff that is released into the atmosphere when you burn fossil fuels).
The Clean Air Task Force, a US non-profit, estimated that EU methane rules have the potential to reduce global methane emissions in the fossil fuel sector by a third.
But the lawmakers said the regulation was as much about energy security as about climate.
Plugging leaks and cutting flaring from oil and gas operations could free up 200 billion cubic metres of gas a year for use, the International Energy Agency estimates.
That is almost twice the volume lost when the Strait of Hormuz was blockaded, the lawmakers note, referring to IEA research, which now goes to waste.
Reaching out amid a climate crackdown
Decisions on the regulation will be viewed “beyond methane policy itself — they will signal whether the EU intends to maintain predictable long-term market rules," they wrote.
The Democrats offer to work with "the Trump Administration, the European Union, industry, and relevant experts to ensure robust implementation," framing themselves as partners, even as the US government is cracking down on climate regulations at home and abroad.
The country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year proposed suspending domestic methane-reporting requirements until 2034, a rule the agency expects to finalise this month.
And the Trump administration has lobbied hard against EU methane rules as well. Last week the US ambassador to the EU, Andrew Puzder, called it "a direct threat" to European energy security.
In June, the US joined Qatar, Nigeria and Algeria in a letter warning the rules could disrupt Europe's oil and gas supply.
The Democrats' letter pledges to "stand ready to support continued US-EU cooperation to ensure that implementation" goes smoothly.
It is not the first time US representatives made an appeal about this subject. In February, more than 20 US senators and representatives sent a similar letter, urging the EU to reject US administration pressure to water down the rules.