Environmental Defense Fund Europe joined NGOs in a joint letter calling on the European Commission to consider methane emissions in the development and renewal of energy contracts with new providers and partner countries.
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Dear Executive Vice-President Timmermans, Dear Commissioner Simson,
In recent years, the European Commission's leadership has been instrumental in making the fight against methane emissions a global priority, and raising awareness of the grave risks anthropogenic methane poses to achieving our climate targets. Yet with these emissions continuing to rise by 4.4 million tons every year1, it remains imperative to accelerate much needed progress. Therefore, we, the undersigned organisations call on the European Commission to continue its leadership on this issue, and issue a recommendation to rigorously consider methane emissions in the development and renewal of energy contracts with new providers and partner countries.
It's no secret that the EU's methane footprint lies largely outside of its borders. The EU imports 70% of its hard coal, 90% of its fossil gas and 97% of its oil2, meaning between 75 and 90% of the EU's methane emissions are emitted in partner countries3. Due to the war in Ukraine and resulting sanctions, many authorities will need to negotiate new contracts for energy supply with new providers. This could be an opportunity to address methane emissions from the start, by fully integrating methane mitigation in the contract considerations, and by leveraging the stakes of EU-based companies in joint ventures abroad.
The role of EU-based international companies to drive methane emissions reductions from production operations outside EU borders, particularly in the oil and gas sector, should not go unnoticed. Many imported fuels are produced by joint ventures, operated by foreign national oil companies with partial ownership from EU oil and gas companies. Many EU companies have taken steps to reduce the EU’s methane footprint within its borders but have not taken all possible steps to encourage the uptake of these forward-looking practices and voluntary commitments outside of the EU4.
Any regulatory approach to address upstream methane emissions outside EU borders will require time for implementation. In the meantime, one partial and rapid solution would be for Member States and EU energy companies to reduce their imported methane emissions by voluntarily selecting suppliers that meet best practices to reduce methane emissions, negotiating requirements on LDAR, venting and flaring in new contracts, and negotiating enhanced commitments to reduce methane emissions at non-operated assets run by joint venture companies or through other types of partnerships. This could complement a regulatory approach and broader international engagement with foreign national oil companies, as well as the EU’s existing incentives to reduce emissions, such as the “You Collect, We Buy" initiative announced in RePowerEU, and encourage EU energy companies to pursue new commitments within non-operated joint ventures by leveraging available financial incentives that support the export of captured methane5.
We are encouraged by the European Commission's exceptional commitment to this issue, demonstrated by the EU's Methane Strategy, its proposal for a Methane Regulation to reduce emissions in the energy sector, the “You Collect, We Buy” initiative, and its role in launching the Global Methane Pledge at COP26. A recommendation to negotiate actions to reduce fugitive methane emissions and routine venting and flaring in energy contracts would be fully in-line with these efforts, help shape industry behavior, and demonstrate the Commission's firm stance that imported methane emissions are a serious concern.
With methane concentrations continuing to rise, and current levels far past the IPCC's 2°C degree scenarios6, further action is urgently needed. Cutting methane emissions is the fastest and easiest way to slow climate change, and we hope you will use the fastest and easiest tool that you have to make it happen.
Sincerely,
Signatures of Co-signing Organisations:
1. Amici della Terra Onlus, President
2. Legambiente - Stefano Ciafani, President
3. Ember - Eleanor Whiale, Programme Lead, Coal Mine Methane
4. Deutsche Umwelthilfe – Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Executive Director
5. Centrum pro dopravu a energeeku / Centre for Transport and Energy - Veronika Murzynová - Energy transformaeon expert
6. Environmental Defense Fund Europe – Flavia Sollazzo, Senior Director, EU Energy Transition
7. 2Celsius – Mihai Stoica, Execueve Director
8. Fundación Renovables –Raquel Paule, Chief Officer Director
9. Client Earth – Anaïs Berthier, Head of the Brussels Office
10. Clean Air Task Force – Jonathan Banks, Global Director, Methane Pollution Prevention
1 Saunois et al. “The Global Methane Budget: 2000-2017.” Copernicus. 2020.
2 European Commission. “An EU strategy to reduce methane.” 2020. Available here. iii European Commission. “Inception Impact Assessment: Proposal for a legislative act to reduce methane emissions in the oil, gas and coal sectors.” 2020.
3 EDF. “Catalysing Methane Emission Reduction at Oil and Gas Joint Ventures” 2022.
4 Florence School of RegulaHon. “The EU can reduce global methane emissions by jointly purchasing gas.” 2023.
5 IPCC. “IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.” 2023.