Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi has warned that his country may stop supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the European Union due to its new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
Adopted in May 2024, the directive enforces strict regulations on environmental protection, human rights, and corporate ethics, with penalties of up to 5% of a company’s global revenue for non-compliance.
“If I lose 5% of my revenue by going to Europe, I won’t go. I’m not bluffing,” al-Kaabi said in a Financial Times interview, emphasizing that such losses are unacceptable for Qatar, where state revenues rely heavily on QatarEnergy.
Al-Kaabi had issued similar warnings earlier, questioning Europe’s commitment to importing Qatari LNG. The new directive’s climate neutrality goals for 2050, tied to the Paris Agreement, also require companies to adopt transition plans, further complicating exports from Qatar.
While al-Kaabi hinted at reconsidering if penalties were tied solely to European contracts, he dismissed penalties on total global revenue as unreasonable. “Come on, it doesn’t make any sense,” he argued.
This ultimatum puts the EU in a tough spot. Following its break from Russian energy after the Ukraine war, the bloc has increasingly relied on Qatar, which supplied 5.3% of EU LNG in 2023. Gas remains crucial for EU households, power generation, and industry, with over 30% of EU homes heated by gas in 2022.
Adding to the pressure, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has urged the EU to boost imports of American oil and gas, threatening tariffs on key EU exports. The U.S. already accounted for nearly 50% of EU LNG imports in 2023.
The EU now faces a pivotal decision: adjust its sustainability agenda to maintain critical energy supplies or risk alienating key partners like Qatar and the U.S. in an increasingly competitive energy market.
