![\"Chimney](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-1086947124-716x476.jpg\" "\\"Gas")
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Investors are urging European policymakers not to revise the EU\u2019s Methane Regulation as part of the bloc\u2019s simplification agenda after the legislation came under fire from US politicians and right-wing groups in the European Parliament.<\/p>\n
The regulation<\/a>, which targets methane emissions reduction in the energy sector through reporting and mitigation measures, came into force in August 2024 and is due to be phased in over the next five years.<\/p>\n It has been heavily criticised by US politicians<\/a> and trade associations<\/a>. This month, US energy secretary Chris Wright told Euractiv<\/a> that the rules \u2013 along with the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)<\/a> \u2013\u00a0would prevent Europe from importing liquified natural gas (LNG) from the US, as agreed in a July trade deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wright added that after conversations with EU energy commissioner Dan J\u00f8rgensen, he was \u201creassured\u201d that the methane law would be changed.<\/p>\n The suggestion was rejected by J\u00f8rgensen, who said <\/a>the EU \u201cwill not withdraw\u201d legislation at the behest of the US. \u201cThe methane rules in Europe are rules that don\u2019t serve to annoy or even prevent us from importing the energy we want.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n Nevertheless, investors have expressed concerns that the regulation could be reopened or revised. Eric Pedersen, head of responsible investment at Nordea Asset Management, said the investor is engaging policymakers to ensure it is not watered down.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMaintaining the integrity of the methane regulation is crucial for the EU\u2019s net-zero commitments, given the fact that fugitive methane has 80 times the warming effect of CO2, and that LNG transported over long distances is especially prone to leaks and venting of pure methane, which of course is what natural gas is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Omnibus outreach<\/strong><\/p>\n Pedersen said Nordea\u2019s outreach was in response to concerns that the methane regulation could get caught up in the EU\u2019s trade negotiations with the US and the upcoming environmental Omnibus<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the parameters of the package have yet to be determined, the methane regulation has come up in broader Omnibus discussions.<\/p>\n In June, the Polish presidency of the Council of the EU cited it<\/a> as an example of energy-related regulation that \u201cmay be in need of simplification, including under the Omnibus programme\u2026 to decrease the administrative burden on member states, industry and citizens\u201d.<\/p>\n The following month,\u00a0MEPs from the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists Group urged <\/a>the European Commission to consider simplifying the methane regulation, saying its obligations \u201care difficult to implement and ignore operational realities and its requirements are too complex for importers\u201d.<\/p>\n