On Thursday 5 October, thirteen NGOs, including CAN Europe, sent an open letter to the Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, and the Executive Vice-President in charge of the ‘European Green Deal’, Maroš Šefčovič. This move comes ahead of the second interinstitutional meeting (trilogue) on 10 October on the regulation to reduce methane emissions in the energy sector (see EUROPE 12854/12).
Although the proposal is currently being negotiated as part of an energy dossier, the letter stresses the climate emergency linked to methane, a gas responsible for 30% of current global warming and 80 times more harmful than CO2 over 20 years.
The NGOs are critical of the EU Council’s lack of ambition, pointing out shortcomings in the text, particularly in terms of monitoring leaks and methane emissions from imported energy sources.
They are calling for an ambitious regulation, proposing a binding target for reducing methane emissions by 2030, in line with the EU’s climate commitments. They recommend mitigation measures on gas imports from 2026, given that 90% of the gas consumed in the EU is imported.
In addition, they suggest a strict emissions intensity standard for imported fossil fuels and the inclusion of the petrochemical sector in the regulation.
Read the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/8ym (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)