Exclusive: EU explores tweaking methane rules for US gas to help trade talks, sources say

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

55% : From 2027, the EU law will make compliance with methane rules equivalent to those of the EU a requirement for foreign suppliers to sign new contracts with European buyers.
54% : Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and the second-biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide emissions.
54% : Reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels, Valerie Volcovici in Washington D.C.; editing by Richard Valdmanis and Ros Russell Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Carbon MarketsSustainable MarketsLNGGasClimate Change Kate Abnett Thomson Reuters Kate Abnett covers EU climate and energy policy in Brussels, reporting on Europe's green transition and how climate change is affecting people and ecosystems across the EU.
54% : Other areas of coverage include her award-winning reporting plastic pollution and the ins and outs of global climate diplomacy and United Nations climate negotiations.
52% : As part of the energy options being explored to aid trade talks with the U.S., the Commission is looking at using flexibilities in how it applies EU methane rules, which could benefit U.S. LNG exporters, the sources said.
52% : The aim would be to avoid weakening the overall law, while introducing technical rules that could enable U.S. exporters to be deemed to be following "equivalent" methane rules to those of the EU, and therefore automatically comply with the EU law, they said.
49% : European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU could increase U.S. LNG purchases, as the bloc seeks to quit Russian gas by 2027.
49% : Starting this year, the EU requires importers of oil and gas to Europe to monitor and report the methane emissions associated with those imports.
42% : The European Commission is working on its offer for trade negotiations with the United States, to attempt to avoid Trump's planned tariffs - with both sides signalling that energy could form part of a broader trade deal.
35% : Trump has said several times the EU should buy more American oil and gas to lower its trade surplus with the United States.
28% : The move could be complicated by Trump's plan to scrap existing U.S. regulations requiring gas producers to report their methane emissions, making it harder for the EU to justify letting U.S. companies automatically comply.

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