(Brussels, May 11, 2026) — A reported draft guidance document from the European Commission that would allow fossil fuel companies to avoid fines for failing to comply with the European Union’s (EU) Methane Regulation would be disastrous not just for climate change, but also for the health and welfare of communities living near oil and gas facilities, Climate Rights International said today. The guidelines reportedly would grant EU member states’ national authorities the power to exempt companies on energy security grounds, with no clear time limit, which critics warn could undermine the law’s ability to drive investment in emissions reductions.

“To address climate change, the EU Methane Regulation requires oil and gas companies to monitor, report, and reduce methane emissions across their operations and supply chains,” said Sarah Sax, researcher at Climate Rights International. “To protect the health of local communities, it bans the routine flaring and venting that poisons the air. These are minor costs for Big Oil, yet in the middle of a war that has led to billions in windfall profits for oil and gas companies, the EU Commission now appears ready to give them another handout. EU citizens would be right to ask why the Commission is more concerned with protecting Big Oil than addressing climate change and protecting people’s health.”

Methane is a super-pollutant more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the first two decades after its release. But in places like Texas, Algeria, and Kazakhstan — major oil and gas producing regions and significant exporters to EU countries — methane is not only a massive climate threat, it is also a daily health hazard. When flared, methane releases volatile organic compounds including benzene, a known carcinogen, as well as nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sulfide, and particulate matter.

The Commission’s reported guidance to EU member states would, if issued, also walk back the Methane Regulation’s enforcement mechanisms for importers by softening compliance pathways and deprioritizing penalties for non-compliance, according to draft guidance seen by Euronews and Reuters.  

The reported Commission guidance comes after sustained lobbying by the U.S. oil and gas industry, which has fought the regulation since its inception. In the U.S., the Trump administration has moved aggressively to dismantle domestic methane oversight by pulling back EPA enforcement of monitoring requirements and proposing to delay greenhouse gas reporting obligations until 2034. This leaves the EU regulation as one of the few remaining sources of meaningful oversight on methane emissions.

“The EU’s Methane Regulation was supposed to ensure that EU member states do not buy oil and gas produced at the expense of the health and lives of communities on the frontlines of oil and gas extraction,” said Sax. “Any Commission guidance that runs counter to legally binding EU law should be rejected and challenged. The EU must stop using an energy crisis created by a war of choice as cover to let Big Oil off the hook for poisoning communities around the world and worsening the climate crisis.”