ExxonKnews
January 28, 2026
This piece is co-published by ExxonKnews and DeSmog, a leading outlet covering climate disinformation and accountability.
The U.S. oil lobby aims to bulldoze European climate regulations as a top policy goal in 2026.
In a policy agenda published this month by the American Petroleum Institute (API), the country’s largest oil and gas trade association said it will ensure that laws outside of the country “do not disadvantage U.S. producers.” The API explicitly names two European climate laws it will zero in on: the EU Methane Regulation and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), a law designed to force large corporations to cut emissions to deal with the negative environmental and human rights impacts of their businesses.
API’s policy directive around European climate laws comes amid precarious trade negotiations and tensions between the U.S. and the EU. President Donald Trump’s chaotic quest for worldwide “energy dominance” and allegiance to fossil fuels has worked out in the favor of American oil companies before, which doesn’t bode well for the future of EU climate regulations.
