The European regulation on reducing methane emissions in the energy sector has been in force for more than two years. But Czechia still has no law establishing inspections and penalties, and according to Ekonews, pressure is mounting behind the scenes to weaken the rules compared with the original proposal.
Although methane remains in the atmosphere for a much shorter time than carbon dioxide, over a 20-year period it has roughly 80 times the warming effect. Reducing its emissions is therefore one of the measures that can help slow global warming relatively quickly.
In the energy sector, methane escapes during the extraction, processing, transport and distribution of natural gas, as well as during coal mining. Leaks occur because of infrastructure failures, but also when gas is deliberately released into the atmosphere.
The European regulation on reducing methane emissions in the energy sector therefore introduces requirements for measuring and reporting emissions, regularly inspecting infrastructure and repairing identified leaks. It also restricts some methods of deliberately releasing and flaring methane.
“One major advantage with methane is that, if we find a leak, we can often fix it relatively quickly. Systematic leak detection and repair therefore have the potential to deliver rapid and significant emissions cuts, making a substantial contribution to climate change mitigation,” explains Nika Murzynová of the Center for Transport and Energy, who focuses on the energy transition.
Without penalties, we have a problem
Czechia has not yet passed implementing legislation for the regulation in question. Among other things, the law is meant to define the powers of individual authorities, establish inspection procedures and introduce penalties for non-compliance. The regulation applies, however, regardless of whether Czech lawmakers are managing to do their work on time. Operators of oil, gas and coal infrastructure already have to monitor and report methane emissions, for example, and find and repair leaks.
“Czech implementing legislation is essential, particularly to establish a proper domestic framework by identifying the relevant authorities, their powers, inspection procedures and penalties for non-compliance,” says Josef Kotrba, executive director of the Czech Energy Association.
Czechia has notified the European Commission of the relevant authorities that are to serve as so-called competent authorities, but has not yet granted them the necessary powers through implementing legislation. The law is also intended to introduce specific penalties for non-compliance.
“The absence of a penalty regime is a fundamental problem, because the existence of an obligation alone does not mean the state can enforce it effectively. If it is not clearly established who checks for violations and what penalties they can impose, the regulation’s practical enforceability is significantly limited. This also creates legal uncertainty for companies that have to meet the new requirements,” says Nika Murzynová.
Asked by Ekonews whether compliance with the obligations under the European regulation is currently being monitored systematically, the Ministry of the Environment did not answer directly. “The practical establishment of an inspection framework, including methodological procedures and the materials needed to apply it consistently, is part of the ongoing implementation of the regulation,” says ministry spokesperson Jana Schillerová.
How to bypass the Government Legislative Council
The Ministry of the Environment drew up the bill under the previous government. In January this year, however, the Government Legislative Council (LRV) suspended its consideration. According to the Government Office, this was due to the large number of comments.
“Many of these comments also required working with other parties on a new version of the text, particularly the Ministry of Industry and the Czech Mining Authority,” said Government Office spokesperson Karla Mráčková. She said the comments concerned, among other things, the responsibilities of individual state bodies, inspection rules and penalties for offences. The Government Legislative Council also called for a financial reserve to be provided for cases in which an operator lacks sufficient funds to fulfil its obligations.
The Ministry of the Environment has already prepared a revised draft bill, according to the Government Office, and it is now being finalised with representatives of the Government Legislative Council and government legislative lawyers. The ministry is then expected to resubmit the bill for consideration. Neither the Government Office nor the Ministry of the Environment said exactly when that would happen.
According to Ekonews, citing a well-informed business source, the main issue is the level of penalties. While the Government Legislative Council would like to retain the original amounts—five, ten and twenty million crowns, depending on the severity of the offence—the Ministry of the Environment is proposing lower figures.
“It could turn out that, before the government meeting, a new version of the document is uploaded to eKLEP (the eKLEP electronic library is used by government offices and institutions to draft, discuss and comment on bills and other government documents—ed.’s note), with lower fines. That would go against the Government Legislative Council’s position,” says the well-informed source. The source also points out that Martin Weiss, currently a deputy minister at the Ministry of the Environment representing the Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD), spent the previous two years at the Czech Gas Association.
“A question of political priority”
The Center for Transport and Energy says the draft prepared by the previous government was sufficient. “Czechia already has a solution in principle. The previous government prepared implementing legislation that addresses the powers of the authorities and penalties, but the Government Legislative Council suspended its consideration. So if there is no effective system for enforcing the European methane regulation today, it is not because it is unclear how to create one—it is primarily a question of political priority,” says Murzynová.
After consideration of the draft was suspended, the Czech Energy Association called on the government to put the bill back on its legislative agenda. “The current delay prolongs legal and regulatory uncertainty around responsibilities, meaning inspections and enforcement. That was essentially why we called for the already-prepared bill to be completed as quickly as possible,” Kotrba says.
According to the Center for Transport and Energy, the available data on methane emissions from Czechia’s energy sector may not reflect the reality. “Without systematic measurement, we do not actually know how much methane is escaping from Czech energy infrastructure or how much actual emissions differ from official estimates. Our field surveys have repeatedly detected leaks from oil and gas infrastructure. The European regulation is therefore important because it puts pressure on companies to measure emissions accurately and then repair leaks. We will finally get a more accurate picture of where the largest sources of methane are,” Murzynová adds.
The Czech Energy Association says methane leaks from the distribution and transmission networks are negligible. In connection with the regulation, however, it points to natural gas prices. “The regulation could lead to higher natural gas prices. First, through regulated prices, because the obligations under the regulation create a significant need for additional investment and higher operating costs for transmission and distribution system operators, including operators of storage facilities and LNG facilities. Methane leaks from the distribution and transmission networks are negligible, but the costs of reducing them will not be,” says Kotrba.
Czechia is not the only one falling behind
Other member states are also having difficulty implementing the European regulation. Last July, the European Commission launched infringement proceedings against nine countries—Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Austria, Slovakia and Finland.
The reason was that these countries had not notified the Commission in time of the authorities responsible for monitoring and enforcing the rules. Czechia was not among them because it had formally notified the European Commission of the relevant authorities. Its domestic system of inspections and penalties is nevertheless still incomplete.
The European regulation is also due to apply gradually to methane emissions from fossil fuel production outside the European Union, if those fuels are imported into the European market. This part of the regulation is particularly significant for Czechia and other member states because of their dependence on imported fossil fuels. The aim is to use the strength of the European market to encourage producers in exporting countries to start systematically measuring, reporting and reducing methane emissions.
An analysis by Rystad Energy for the international non-profit organisation Clean Air Task Force says that introducing a standard for imported oil and natural gas could reduce methane emissions associated with their imports into the EU by at least 1.9 million tonnes a year.
A delay is on the table
However, requirements for importers are still being discussed at the European level. On 14 October, the European Commission presented a proposal to delay some requirements for importers of oil, natural gas and coal by one year. The requirement to demonstrate that the extraction of imported fossil fuels meets comparable European standards for monitoring, reporting and verification of methane emissions would therefore take effect in January 2028 rather than January 2027.
The Commission justifies the delay by citing concerns about EU energy security and a desire to avoid further pressure on fossil fuel supplies in the current geopolitical situation. The proposal also follows months of pressure from the United States and the oil and gas industry. The Commission maintains that the change does not weaken climate targets or reduce the scope of the methane regulation. The delay is not yet final, as it must be approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
The Center for Transport and Energy says any delay should not lead to a weakening of the European regulation’s climate goals. “The European Commission is considering a one-year delay to the rules for fossil fuel importers under the methane regulation. It is important that this delay does not become a retreat from the rules’ underlying goal. Through its requirements for measuring, reporting and reducing emissions, the European market can influence fossil fuel producers outside the EU as well. If the extra year is to be used for preparation, it should genuinely lead to a smooth introduction of these rules, not to their weakening,” Murzynová says.
