U.S. demands on Europe in the field of energy
2/20/2026 8:00:00 AM
President Donald Trump's administration, which has rolled back U.S. environmental regulations in a bid to "unleash American energy dominance" and expand oil, gas and coal production, is also demanding that Europe makes similar rule changes so it can buy more U.S. energy.
This week U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright gave the Paris-based International Energy Agency a one-year deadline to abandon its support of goals to reduce planet-warming gas emissions to "net zero" by 2050 or risk losing the United States as a member.
Here is a list of other demands the U.S. has made on the European Union in the field of energy policy.
- Buy American: The U.S. and EU struck a framework trade deal in 2025, which included a pledge for the EU to spend $250 B annually on U.S. energy — imports of oil, liquefied natural gas and nuclear technology — for the next three years. This would require the redirection of most U.S. energy exports towards Europe while the EU has little control over the energy its companies import.
- Scrap sustainability directives: EU countries have agreed on a corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD) which requires supply chain checks for human rights abuses and environmental harm and a corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD), which requires large companies to detail their environmental and governance performance. U.S. pressure contributed to watering these down, for example a requirement to have, and implement, a net-zero emissions plan was dropped; the thresholds for employee numbers and revenue for companies having to report were raised and implementation was pushed back. The Trump administration and big U.S. companies like Exxon still criticized the bills.
- The Paris-based International Energy Agency should stop talking about net zero: The Trump administration gave the industrialized world's prime energy policy data provider a one-year deadline to scrap its support of goals to reduce energy emissions to net zero or risk losing the United States as a member, criticizing European countries that support policies designed to cut emissions to net-zero by 2050. In a 2021 analysis, which climate advocates frequently refer to, the IEA said investors should not fund new oil, gas and coal supply projects if the world wants to reach net zero emissions by mid-century.
- Replace Russian gas with U.S. LNG and gas imports: The United States has said Europe should replace Russian gas imports with U.S. liquefied natural gas. U.S. LNG imports into the European Union have ballooned from around 14 Bm3 in 2019 to 83 Bm3 in 2025, while Russian gas imports shrunk from 203 Bm3 to 38 Bm3, according to think tank Bruegel. U.S. oil majors Exxon and Chevron are expanding their footprint in the Mediterranean, a move hailed by the Trump administration as strategically important to fill Europe's energy gaps.
- Exempt us from methane emissions curbs: The U.S. has demanded that the European Union exempt its oil and gas from obligations under the bloc's methane emissions law on fuel imports until 2035, a U.S. government document seen by media showed. Failure to do so might disrupt U.S. gas supplies to Europe, the Trump administration has warned. Methane, the main component of natural gas which often leaks from oil and gas infrastructure, is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, helping fuel climate change.
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