The US and Qatar have told the EU that the bloc's planned corporate sustainability law could jeopardise long-term LNG supplies at a time when Europe needs to replace Russian gas supply.
In a joint statement Washington and Doha — two of the world's top LNG exporters — said the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) poses "an existential threat" to the bloc's growth, competitiveness and resilience, and have urged its repeal or amendment. They said the legislation "seriously undermines" the ability of US, Qatari and other global producers to sustain and expand LNG exports to Europe.
"This comes at a critical moment when our countries and companies are striving not only to sustain but to significantly increase the reliable supply of LNG to the EU," the countries said. European energy ministers this week agreed to phase out the gas that it still buys from Russia by the end of 2027.
The CSDDD could be set for further debate as early as Friday, 24 October. It seeks to ensure the compatibility of firms' business models with the Paris agreement's goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared with pre-industrial levels.
US energy minister Chris Wright and his Qatari counterpart Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said the directive's provisions, particularly those on extraterritorial application, climate-transition plans, penalties and civil liability, would deter investment, disrupt trade and raise costs for EU households and industries. They also said the rules could undermine the US-EU energy trade deal struck in July, which commits EU members to purchase $750bn of US energy by 2028, and they urged the EU to open "substantive dialogue" with global partners and business to revise or repeal the CSDDD.
The European Parliament's legal affairs committee voted on 14 October to simplify the CSDDD and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The vote aligned with the European Council's position on exempting firms from sustainability due diligence if they have fewer than 5,000 employees and a net global turnover under €1.5bn ($1.74bn).
US president Donald Trump had threatened to impose tariffs on countries erecting "non-tariff trade barriers" and has railed against climate change policies.
European climate diplomacy faced a major setback last week when the International Maritime Organization failed to adopt a global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions pricing mechanism for international shipping, in part due to pressure from the US administration.
