Qatar has warned it may halt gas exports to the European Union (EU) in response to EU’s issuing of bloc’s due diligence directive law on forced labour and environmental harm, according to a letter sent by Qatar to the Belgian government and reported by Reuters.

In the letter, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi stated that if changes are not made to the EU’s corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD), which requires larger companies operating in the EU to find and fix human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains, they will find other stable markets for their products. 

Kaabi objected particularly on the requirement for companies to have a climate change transition plan aligned with preventing global warming exceeding 1.5 celsius – the goal of the Paris Agreement. He commented that “neither Qatar nor QatarEnergy have any plan to achieve net zero in the near future.”

Qatar, the third largest exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG), supplies 12% to 14% of EU demands of gas since it stopped exports from Russia due the invasion on Ukraine.