US, EU lawmakers seek international methane standard for oil and gas

A group of European Union and US Democrat lawmakers has asked the International Energy Agency to develop international standards for measuring the oil and gas sector's emissions of methane, to help countries adopt tougher measures targeting the potent greenhouse gas, a letter showed on Tuesday.

The EU will impose methane emissions limits on Europe's oil and gas imports from 2030, but has yet to confirm how the exact limit will be calculated. Currently, there is no international agreement on how firms should count and verify claims about the emissions associated with their gas.

In a letter to IEA executive director Fatih Birol, seen by Reuters, seven EU lawmakers - including representatives from the two biggest lawmaker groups in the European Parliament - and ten US Democrats asked the energy watchdog to help develop international standards for measuring methane...