EU ministers negotiate methane emissions rules and ETS2 carbon tax

EU member states are set to discuss the impact of the bloc's new methane emissions regulation (EU 2024/1787) on fossil fuel importers at a ministerial meeting in Brussels. Ireland, which holds the EU presidency until the end of the year, has asked governments to provide guidance to the European Commission on implementing the rule. Several countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium, Italy, Poland and Sweden, have previously requested an urgent review and a possible three‑year postponement of the methane requirements, warning that the rules could threaten energy‑security and raise import costs. The regulation would require monitoring, reporting and verification of methane emissions from 2027, with penalties of up to 20% of annual turnover for non‑compliance. The United States, now the largest LNG supplier to Europe, has cautioned that its deliveries could be redirected if the EU does not relax the rules.

At the same time, ten EU countries – Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia – have asked the European Commission to reconsider the ETS2 carbon tax for transport and heating fuels, slated to take effect in 2028 after a one‑year delay. They argue that the current economic and geopolitical climate makes a new climate tax burdensome for households and call for more free emission certificates for industry. The Commission maintains that revenues from ETS2 would be reinvested to support citizens and the clean‑energy transition, while some member states such as Germany and Sweden continue to back the measure.