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1. Renewable gas shall be certified in accordance with Articles 29, 29a and 30 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001. Low-carbon fuels shall be certified in accordance with this Article.

2. In order to ensure that the greenhouse gas emissions savings from the use of low-carbon fuels are at least 70 %, Member States shall require economic operators to show that that threshold and the requirements established in the methodology referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article have been complied with. For those purposes, they shall require economic operators to use a mass balance system in line with Article 30(1) and (2) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001.

3. Member States shall ensure that economic operators submit reliable information regarding compliance with the 70 % greenhouse gas emissions savings threshold referred to in paragraph 2 and with the greenhouse gas emissions saving methodology referred to in paragraph 5, and that economic operators make available to the relevant Member State, upon request, the data that were used to provide that information. Member States shall require economic operators to put in place an adequate standard of independent auditing of the information submitted, and to provide evidence that this has been done. The auditing shall verify that the systems used by economic operators are accurate, reliable and protected against fraud.

4. The obligations laid down in paragraph 2 shall apply regardless of whether low-carbon fuels are produced within the Union or are imported. Information about the geographic origin and feedstock type of low-carbon fuels or low-carbon hydrogen per fuel supplier shall be made available to consumers on the websites of operators, suppliers or the relevant competent authorities and shall be updated on an annual basis.

5. By 5 August 2025, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 90 to supplement this Directive by specifying the methodology for assessing greenhouse gas emissions savings from low-carbon fuels. That methodology shall ensure that credit for avoided emissions is not given for carbon dioxide from fossil sources the capture of which has already received an emission credit under other provisions of law and shall cover the life cycle of greenhouse gas emissions and consider indirect emissions resulting from the diversion of rigid inputs. That methodology shall be consistent with the methodology for assessing greenhouse gas emissions savings from renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin and from recycled carbon fuels, including the treatment of emissions due to the leakage of hydrogen, and take into account methane upstream emissions and actual carbon capture rates.

6. Where appropriate, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council that evaluates hydrogen leakage, including environmental and climate risks, technical specificities and adequate maximum hydrogen leakage rates. On the basis of that report, the Commission shall, if appropriate, submit a legislative proposal to introduce measures that minimise possible risks of hydrogen leakage, set maximum hydrogen leakage rates and establish compliance mechanisms. Relevant maximum hydrogen leakage rates shall be included in the methodology referred to in paragraph 5.

7. The Commission may adopt decisions recognising that voluntary national or international schemes setting standards for the production of low-carbon fuels or low-carbon hydrogen provide accurate data on greenhouse gas emission savings for the purposes of this Article and demonstrate compliance with the methodology referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article. The Commission shall adopt such decisions only if the scheme in question meets adequate standards of reliability, transparency and independent auditing in line with the requirements set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/996 for the certification of renewable fuels.

8. Where an economic operator provides evidence or data obtained in accordance with a scheme that has been the subject of a recognition pursuant to paragraph 7, a Member State shall not require the economic operator to provide further evidence of compliance with the criteria for which the scheme has been recognised by the Commission.

9. Competent authorities of the Member States shall supervise the operation of certification bodies that are conducting independent auditing under a voluntary scheme. Certification bodies shall submit, upon the request of competent authorities, all relevant information necessary to supervise the auditing, including the exact date, time and location of audits. Where Member States find issues of non-conformity, they shall inform the voluntary scheme without delay.

10. At the request of a Member State, which may be based on a request by an economic operator, the Commission shall, on the basis of all available evidence, examine whether the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in this Article, the methodology developed in line with paragraph 5 of this Article, and the greenhouse gas emissions savings thresholds indicated in Article 2, points (11), (12) and (13), have been met. Within six months of receipt of such a request, the Commission shall decide whether the Member State concerned may:

(a) accept the evidence already provided to show compliance with the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria for low-carbon fuels; or (b) by way of derogation from paragraph 8, require suppliers of the source of low-carbon fuels to provide further evidence of their compliance with the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria and the 70 % greenhouse gas emissions savings threshold.

11. Member States shall require the relevant economic operators to enter into the Union database established pursuant to Article 31a(1) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001, or into national databases that are linked to that Union database, in accordance with Article 31a(2) of that Directive, information on the transactions made and the sustainability characteristics of renewable gas and low-carbon fuels in line with the requirements for renewable fuels established in Article 31a of that Directive. Where guarantees of origin have been issued for the production of a consignment of low-carbon gas, they shall be subject to the same rules as those set out in in that Article for guarantees of origin issued for the production of renewable gas.

12. The Commission shall adopt by means of implementing acts decisions on recognition pursuant to paragraph 7 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 91(3). Such decisions shall have a limited period of validity, not exceeding five years.