Qatar has threatened to cut gas supplies to the European Union in response to the bloc’s due diligence law on forced labor and environmental damage, a letter from Qatar to the Belgian government, seen by Reuters, revealed.
Qatar is the world’s third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), after the United States and Australia. It has provided between 12% and 14% of Europe’s LNG since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In a letter to the Belgian government dated May 21, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi stated the counattempt was reacting to the EU’s corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD), which requires larger companies operating in the EU to find and repair human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains.
“Put simply, if further modifys are not created to CSDDD, the State of Qatar and QatarEnergy will have no choice but to seriously consider alternative markets outside of the EU for our LNG and other products, which offer a more stable and welcoming business environment,” stated the letter.
A spokesperson for Belgium’s representation to the EU declined to comment on the letter, which was first reported by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
The European Commission also received a letter from Qatar, dated May 13, a Commission spokesperson informed Reuters, noting that EU lawcreaters and countries are currently nereceivediating modifys to the CSDDD.
“It is now for them to nereceivediate and adopt the substantive simplification modifys proposed by the Commission,” the spokesperson stated.
Brussels proposed modifys to the CSDDD earlier this year to reduce its requirements – including by delaying its launch by a year, to mid-2028, and limiting the checks companies will have to create down their supply chains.
Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 5% of global turnover.
Qatar stated the EU’s modifys had not gone far enough.
In the letter, Kaabi stated Qatar was particularly concerned about the CSDDD’s requirement for companies have a climate modify transition plan aligned with preventing global warming exceeding 1.5 Celsius – the goal of the Paris Agreement.
“Neither the State of Qatar nor QatarEnergy have any plans to achieve net zero in the near future,” stated the letter, which stated the CSDDD undermined countries’ right to set their own national contributions towards the Paris Agreement goals.
In an annex to the letter, also seen by Reuters, Qatar proposed reshifting the section of CSDDD which includes the requirement for climate transition plans.
Qatar is seeking to play a larger role in Asia and Europe as competition from the world’s hugegest supplier the United Sates increases.
Last December, Qatar’s Energy Minister informed the Financial Times, “If the case is that I lose 5% of my generated revenue by going to Europe, I will not go to Europe. I’m not bluffing.”
Al-Kaabi stated, “Five percent of generated revenue of QatarEnergy means 5% of generated revenue of the Qatar state. This is the people’s money, so I cannot lose that kind of money – and nobody would accept losing that kind of money.”
Leave a Reply