What changed

B100457/2025

B100464/2025

European Parliament resolution on the Commission delegated regulation of 8 July 2025 supplementing Directive (EU) 2024/1788 of the European Parliament and of the Council by specifying a methodology for assessing greenhouse gas emissions savings from low-carbon fuels

– having regard to the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1184 of 10 February 2023 supplementing Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing a Union methodology setting out detailed rules for the production of renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin,

– having regard to Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 amending Directive (EU) 2018/2001, Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 and Directive 98/70/EC as regards the promotion of energy from renewable sources, and repealing Council Directive (EU) 2015/652,

– having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions “A Competitiveness Compass for the EU” (COM(2025)0030),

– having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions “The Clean Industrial Deal: A joint roadmap for competitiveness and decarbonisation” (COM(2025)0085),

– having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions “Action Plan for Affordable Energy” (COM(2025)0079),

– having regard to Rule 114(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the hydrogendevelopment marketof uptakethe inUnion’s Europehydrogen ismarket lagginghas behindbeen itshindered expectationsby duean tounclear, anoverly unclearcomplex regulatory environment which consequentlydiscourages investment decisions for hydrogen projects and, as a result, undermines the Union’s competitiveness; whereas theit existingrequires statea ofrapid playscale-up discouragesto companiesmeet fromindustrial makingneeds, awith decisionlow tocarbon investhydrogen inexpected theto productionplay ofa hydrogen;key role;

B. whereas the European Court of Auditors’ (ECA) Special report 11/2024 foundReport thatof the hydrogenEuropean marketCourt isof onlyAuditors partially(ECA) developed11/2024 andfound the ambitious targets for renewableUnion’s hydrogen set by the REPowerEU plan andtargets Directiveas (EU)overly 2023/2413ambitious; ofwhereas the European Parliamentreport andcalled ofon the Council are unlikelyCommission to be met;carry whereasout thea reportreality calledcheck forin aorder "realityto check"reassess oftheir thefeasibility Union’sand objectivescredibility and urged future strategies to be based on sound assessments;

C. whereas the production of low-carbon hydrogen enablesis thean achievementenabler offor reaching the Union’s decarbonisation goalscompetitiveness across different key sectorssectors, including energy, transport and industry;energy-intensive industries; whereas the proposed delegated regulation should have provided greater legal certainty for the market which is essential for unlocking investment opportunities;

D. whereas the technology-neutral principle must be upheld for the production of low-carbon hydrogen;

D. whereas energy-intensive industries and other key sectors are calling for clarity and support rather than additional complexity, underlining the need for a regulatory environment capable of enabling innovation, scale-up, and the practical deployment of technologies, while upholding the principle of technological neutrality;

E. whereas each Member State has, in accordance with Article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, a right to determine its own energy mix;

E. whereas the proposed low-carbon delegated regulation does not address those calls and could lead to further hampering the uptake of low-carbon hydrogen in Europe;

F. whereas the proposed low-carbon delegated regulation contains a number of shortcomings that could lead to hampering the uptake of low-carbon hydrogen in Europe;

1. Objects to the Commission delegated regulation;

2. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and to notify it that the delegated regulation cannot enter into force;

3. Reiterates the importance of scaling up low-carbon hydrogen in the Union in order to safeguard the Union’s competitiveness and regain its position on a global level, while serving as a complementary fuel to renewable hydrogen;

3. Supports the expansion of low carbon hydrogen production and distribution as an essential component of the Union’s energy strategy; calls on the Commission to allow the use of low-carbon hydrogen to meet the RFNBO targets for industry and transport, as set out in Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

4. Considers that the proposed delegated actact, by imposing restrictive and unworkable emission calculation rules, would make low-carbonlow carbon hydrogen production in the Union nearly impossible by imposing restrictiveclose andto unworkableimpossible emissionand, calculationas rules,a posingresult, aundermine criticalthe threatdevelopment toof the decarbonisationhydrogen ofmarket energy-intensivewhich industriesis andessential ultimatelyfor the Union's climateenergy-intensive ambitions;industries;

5. Points out that the proposed delegated regulation creates disproportionately high administrative burdens for manufacturers, in light of the disproportionately complex methodology for calculating the carbon footprint and the fact that monthly reporting is not consistent with the usual annual product carbon footprint reports. Such a significant administrative burden would have a direct impact on the price of low-carbon hydrogen and thus on the competitiveness of European companies. The continuing increase in the administrative burden on economic operators directly contradicts the findings of the Draghi report and strategic initiatives such as the Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal;

5. Draws attention to ECA Special Report 11/2024 which recommended to calibrate market incentives for renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production and use based on realistic assessments, as well as to consider regional and industrial sector specificities and the role of low-carbon hydrogen;

6. Draws attention to ECA Special report 11/2024 which stipulated that Union targets for renewable hydrogen turned out to be overly ambitious and based on the available information from Member States and industry, the Union is unlikely to meet them by 2030; notes the ECA recommendation to calibrate market incentives for renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production and use, as well as to consider regional and industrial sector specificities and the role of low-carbon hydrogen;

6. Is concerned for the subsequent difficulties for companies to invest and to pursue the decarbonisation efforts; regrets, moreover, the risks stemming from an overly complex regulatory framework and the additional bureaucratic burdens placed on companies, which are already severely affected by the competitiveness crisis;

7. Stresses that the delegated regulation is discriminatory and prevents the production of low-carbon hydrogen, particularly in Member States that do not have access to extensive renewable resources other than biomass, or where nuclear power is an important part of the energy mix;

7. Notes with concern that the proposed framework would have a negative impact on manufacturers, as manufacturers would be required to report the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of their national electricity grid on a monthly basis, even when sourcing their electricity from low-carbon sources; stresses that this administrative burden would have a direct impact on the price of low-carbon hydrogen and that it stands in direct contradiction to the objective of enhancing Union competitiveness;

8. Calls on the Commission to submit a new delegated regulation by mid-2026, which takes account of the following recommendations:

8. Stresses the importance of respecting the principle of technological neutrality; notes that, in its current form, the proposed framework appears to favour ‘green’ hydrogen (RFNBO) over low-carbon hydrogen and discourages its production, particularly in Member States where nuclear power is an important part of the energy mix; affirms that this could lead to discriminatory and unequal conditions for Member States;

(a) to streamline the methodology for calculating the carbon footprint in line with methodologies used in other areas in order to use guarantees of origin to prove the carbon footprint of the electricity used as input, or data from the electricity supplier;

9. Underlines that the delegated act envisages an assessment of nuclear-based Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) only after July 2028, thereby providing only a limited recognition of nuclear energy; calls for enhanced flexibility in the accounting of methane emissions, including by making greater use of project-specific data;

(b) to ensure that a clear and simple methodology for calculating the carbon footprint recognises low-carbon hydrogen production from non-renewable sources, including production from natural gas involving CCS, biomass, biomethane as well as zero-carbon energy from nuclear power plants;

10. Calls on the Commission to submit in the third quarter of 2026 a new delegated regulation which:

(c) to speed-up the nuclear fuel production study in order to supplement the technologically neutral wording of the new delegated regulation, including direct connection to nuclear sources, with those results;

(a) ensures a clear and simple methodology for the calculation of the carbon footprint, while avoiding additional administrative burdens;

(d) to withdraw from postponing the assessment of nuclear Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) until the 2028 revision, which would only deepen legislative uncertainty and slow down hydrogen development in Europe;

(b) recognizes all production pathways capable of meeting the required GHG savings threshold, including electrolysis powered by nuclear electricity, natural gas involving CCSU, biomass and biomethane;

(e) to allow the use of nuclear PPAs instead of using the overall energy mix of the Member State;

(c) withdraws the delay for the assessment and eligibility of nuclear PPAs or analogous arrangements until the 2028 revision;

(f) to include a grandfathering clause for methane as well as hydrogen emissions to provide investors with a sufficient level of certainty in case of possible future and unforeseen changes to the methodology;

(d) permits reliance on nuclear PPAs as an alternative to the Member State’s overall energy mix;

(g) to remove the sunset clause set on 1st January 2041 in section A, paragraph 10, point (a) of Annex I as the end date for eligibility of CO2 stemming from industrial sources;

(e) allows the use of project specific methane emission data for upstream emissions, with default values to be used only where project data is unavailable;

9. Calls on the Commission to allow the use of low-carbon hydrogen to meet the targets set for renewable fuels of non-biological origin for industry and transport, as set out in Directive (EU) 2023/2413;

(f) establishes an investor-protection mechanism (grandfathering clause) for methane and hydrogen emissions, in anticipation of possible future adjustments to the methodology;

10.11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.