US demands EU exempt its gas from methane emissions law, document shows

By Kate ‌Abnett

BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The United States has demanded that ‍the European ‌Union exempt its oil and gas from obligations under the bloc's methane ⁠emissions law on fuel ‌imports until 2035, a U.S. government document seen by Reuters showed.

Starting this year, the EU requires importers of oil and gas to Europe to monitor ⁠and report the methane emissions associated with those imports, in a bid to reduce ​emissions of the potent planet-warming gas.

The world-first ‌climate policy has faced opposition from ⁠U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who has called it impossible to implement and warned it could disrupt U.S. gas supplies ​to Europe. European countries are increasing their imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas, as they race to phase out oil and gas imports from Russia.

A U.S. government document, reviewed by Reuters, said ​that in ‍the absence of a "full ​repeal" of the EU law, the United States proposed that the EU should "delay requiring U.S. emissions data reporting under the EUMR [EU Methane Regulation] until October 2035".

"The EU Methane Regulations is a critical non-tariff trade barrier that imposes an undue burden on U.S. exporters and ⁠our trade relationship," said the document, which was circulated to EU member governments ahead of a ​meeting of their energy ministers in Brussels on Monday.

A spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the EU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A European Commission ‌spokesperson did not immediately confirm if it had also received the U.S. paper.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett, editing by Louise Rasmussen and Bart Meijer)