EU Plans Changes to Sustainability Law as US, Qatar Increase Pressure

Qatar and the US have written to EU heads of state expressing deep concern over corporate sustainability rules and their potential impact on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, according to a statement from QatarEnergy on Wednesday.

Last week, Qatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, told Reuters that Qatar will not be able to do business in the EU, including supplying Europe with LNG to plug its energy gap, if further changes are not made to its Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

The letter signed by Kaabi and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the directive “poses a significant risk to the affordability and reliability of critical energy supplies for households and businesses across Europe and an existential threat to the future growth, competitiveness, and resilience of the EU’s industrial economy.”

The EU rule requires larger companies operating in the EU to find and fix human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains or face financial penalties.

Last week, the European Parliament’s legal committee backed plans to water down the law, having faced pushback from companies, but Kaabi said the changes did not address key concerns.

By Tala Ramadan and Ahmed Elimam; Editors: Himani Sarkar and Kim Coghill

Learn more:

The Frayed Edge: Fashion Needs a New Sustainability Playbook

Efforts to establish a cleaner, kinder fashion sector are struggling, but it’s not clear what the answers are.