Fifty-five MEPs, mainly from the EPP and ECR groups, but also from Renew Europe and S&D MEP Jens Geier, sent a joint letter to the European Commission on Tuesday 1 July calling for the draft delegated act on low-carbon hydrogen to be revised before it is adopted by the Commission (see EUROPE 13643/12). The signatories want the act to reflect more “economic realities, legal obligations, and the strong policy mandate of the European Parliament”.
One long-standing demand has been for the methodology for calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for low-carbon fuels to be revised to allow the use of electricity “from all zero- or low-emission sources — including nuclear and renewables” via ‘power purchase agreements’ (PPAs).
Furthermore, the signatories believe that the public consultation now planned by the Commission for 2026 on this point is not an appropriate solution to their request for recognition of these “low-carbon” PPAs.
The letter then insists that the Commission must revise the “arbitrary” increase in the default carbon footprint for natural gas emissions and allow the use of certified “supplier- or project-specific” values, and not only for methane emissions.
It also highlights the possibility of having default values specific to a country or region, which would “increase the variety of countries exporting to the European Union dramatically”.
Finally, the signatories regret the lack of a grandfathering clause for projects with a final investment decision taken before 5 August 2028. They suggest that grandfathering rights should be maintained under existing reporting schemes, such as the methane regulation.
This letter is part of a wider debate on the proposed legislation to reduce emissions by 90% by 2040 (see EUROPE 13672/1).
During an exchange with the press, Christian Ehler (EPP, German) said that he expected the Commission to link this 2040 climate target to reforms and an ambitious post-2030 legislative package. He had mentioned that one of the concessions expected in order to be able to support the proposal was the revision of the draft delegated act, as presented last May (see EUROPE 13670/10). At present, there are differing positions within the group in order to support this proposed 2040 target.
To see the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/hoo (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)