Brussels, July 9 – On 7 July 2025, the European Commission published the Delegated Act on low‑carbon fuels and hydrogen, finalizing the methodology required by Article 9 of the Hydrogen and Gas Market Directive.
Esther Bollendorff, Senior Gas Policy Coordinator, CAN Europe:
“After months of political battling over the Delegated Act on Low Carbon Fuels, the European Commission gave in to pressure from the fossil gas industry by drastically reducing key values for measuring the carbon footprint of fossil gas-based, so-called “blue” hydrogen.
Both piped and liquefied gas now see their carbon dioxide default values slashed by a third, while a permanent loophole has been created for methane emissions resulting from liquefying, regasifying and transporting LNG.
The default values of this final act are nowhere near actual scientific measurements of CO2 emissions, nor of upstream and midstream methane leakages. These rules will ultimately result in greenwashing fossil-based hydrogen and giving the industry a prolonged lifeline for fossil gas use through carbon capture and storage. This is a major setback for a truly clean and renewables-based energy transition.”
Greg Van Elsen, Senior Industrial Policy Coordinator, CAN Europe:
“Fossil gas and its use for blue hydrogen in energy-intensive sectors, is neither helping industrial competitiveness nor the EU’s climate goals in the long term. It only continues to support fossil fuel extraction and locks the EU further into dependencies, while relying on costly and underperforming technologies. Yet, given the substantial public support it is likely to receive, it is essential that any blue hydrogen use meets strict sustainability standards and that any of its application is conditioned to a hard stop by 2035 and quick phase-in of 100% renewable hydrogen in targeted sectors.
The support for blue hydrogen is a dangerous move and risks creating misleading claims in the definition of green industrial products such as steel, which should under no circumstances prolong or open the door to technologies using fossil fuels. ”
