EU Methane Regulation—introduction

On 14 October 2020, the Commission published the EU Methane Strategy, with the stated aim of curbing temperature pathways to 2050 and improving air quality. The strategy focuses on the reduction of methane emissions in the energy, agriculture and waste sectors, as these areas account for almost the entirety of anthropogenic methane emissions. 

Further to commitments made in the EU Methane Strategy, the Commission adopted a proposal for a new regulation governing methane emissions on 15 December 2021. The resulting Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on the reduction of methane emissions in the energy sector (the EU Methane Regulation) was published in the Official Journal on 15 July 2024. It entered into force on 4 August 2024.

The EU Methane Regulation sets out rules on the following for the fossil energy sector:

1. •

   monitoring, verification, and reporting of methane emissions, as well as on transparency with respect to this data

2. •

   reduction of methane emissions, including obligations regarding