EU Council approves the regulation on reducing methane emissions in the energy sector

On 27 May 2024 the EU Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 on reducing methane emissions in the energy sector. The European Parliament had approved the same text on 10 April 2024. The regulation imposes obligations on oil, natural gas and coal operators and – which is particularly relevant for the gas market – on importers.

What the regulation introduces

Operators are required to measure and report methane emissions, regularly detect and repair leaks (LDAR) and limit venting and flaring of gas. The new rules also apply to closed and abandoned coal mines.

The most discussed part concerns imports. According to the description of the provisions, for contracts concluded or renewed after the regulation enters into force, importers must demonstrate from 1 January 2027 that the producer applies an MRV system (monitoring, reporting, verification) equivalent to the EU's, and in subsequent years meet requirements on methane emission intensity. For older contracts, "reasonable efforts" are required.

Relationship with biogas and biomethane

The regulation concerns fossil fuels and so does not directly cover biogas plants. It does, however, have an indirect effect: it raises environmental requirements for imported natural gas and LNG, which narrows the cost gap between fossil gas and biomethane, and at the same time confirms the principle that methane emissions must be measured and reduced across the whole chain. Conclusions about limiting methane leakage also apply to biogas installations, where leaks and emissions from digestate storage are a significant factor in the climate balance.

Significance for the industry in Poland

Poland is a gas importer (including LNG) and home to the operations of large gas companies. Orlen, as owner of the former PGNiG, must prepare contracts and documentation for the MRV requirements. For national transmission and distribution network operators, in turn, the regulation means a leak control programme. For biomethane it is an additional argument in the energy security debate: gas produced domestically is not subject to import requirements.

What next

After signing, the regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will enter into force after 20 days. The biggest challenge is implementing the obligations for importers: it requires contracts with suppliers from third countries, MRV systems and data on methane emission intensity. For gas companies in Poland this is the time to review contracts and documentation. For the biogas sector the signal is more general: measuring and reducing methane emissions across the whole chain is becoming the standard.

What to look out for

For readers working with biogas, the distinction matters: the methane regulation concerns emissions from fossil fuels, whereas methane emissions from biogas plants are regulated in other acts (permits, BAT, sustainability criteria for biomethane). These two legal regimes complement each other, but do not replace one another.