Critical ITRE/ENVI Committee Vote Pending on EU’s First Methane Regulation
Brussels, 25 April 2023 – With a crucial EU Parliamentary vote taking place tomorrow, 26 April, the Environmental Defense Fund Europe (EDFE) is urging MEPs to support a strong position on the bloc’s first regulation aimed at reducing methane emissions in the energy sector. The new regulation is a unique opportunity to contribute to global efforts to combat climate change and ease pressure on the EU's energy supply, but EDFE warns that failure to act swiftly and decisively risks seriously undermining the EU's leadership role under the Global Methane Pledge and hindering progress towards meeting its climate goals and commitments.
Don’t Let Inertia Trump Obligation and Opportunity
Flavia Sollazzo, EDFE’s Senior Director, EU Energy Transition, comments: “This is a pivotal moment for the EU’s climate legacy.
Implementing a strong regulation promptly could bring a triple victory for the EU: slowing global warming, bolstering Europe's gas supply during an energy crisis, and enabling economies to benefit from untapped gas revenues. As we transition towards renewable energy, we must ensure that current fossil fuel extraction is efficient and responsible, without the need for further extraction.
Timing is now critical as current higher gas prices create a significant incentive for the oil and gas industry to act and capture the otherwise wasted methane – the main component of natural gas.”
Sollazzo further highlights the leadership role of the EU: “Europe has the opportunity now to demonstrate climate leadership to the world and fulfil its commitments under the Global Methane Pledge. Reducing methane emissions can also contribute to a cleaner and healthier environment for EU citizens and communities worldwide. Every day lost in delays is another day the EU falls short of its responsibilities.”
EDFE’s EU Methane Ask
During the negotiation process, EDFE has consistently emphasised the need to implement robust measuring, reporting, and verification (MRV) rules, as well as a comprehensive framework for detecting and repairing leaks (LDAR), and strict regulations for limiting venting and flaring.
To have any chance of meeting the EU's ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030, the adopted act must reflect best practices and provide a solid foundation for reducing energy methane emissions in the EU. Furthermore, establishing strong domestic measures puts the EU in a stronger position – with more effective tools – to deal with imports.
The Oil and Gas Sector Can Act NOW to Slash Methane Emissions at Little or No Cost
Cutting methane wasted by the oil and gas industry globally – through leaks, venting, and flaring – is the quickest, cheapest, and most effective way to slow global warming. By fully deploying existing solutions to cut methane emissions across key sectors, 0.5 degrees Celsius in warming could be avoided by the end of the century. It’s that simple.
Sollazzo comments: “There is no reason that operators cannot act right now to reduce methane emissions, and evidence from the International Energy Agency (IEA) strongly supports this. It estimates that worldwide, the oil and gas industry can achieve a 75 percent methane emission reduction using technologies available today — two-thirds of it at no or low net cost. And, as little as three percent of profits generated by fossil fuel industries could be utilised to effectively mitigate the majority of existing methane emissions.”
The Inconvenient Truth of Imported Methane and Europe's Climate Agenda
In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a surge in energy prices, demand for natural gas in the EU fell in 2022 by 13 percent (IEA). Despite this, the EU remains the world’s largest natural gas importer, and plays a leading role in the climate crisis. It imports 90 percent of its natural gas from the planet’s biggest methane emitters and has a high “methane footprint” in producer countries – estimated to be between three and eight times the emissions from the domestic EU gas supply chain.
Sollazzo concludes: “The EU has set ambitious targets to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and wants to be a global leader in the fight against climate change. MEPs now have the solution at their fingertips to implement a strong regulation that effectively cuts EU methane emissions.”
-ENDS-
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: https://www.cutmethaneeu.org/
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Flavia Sollazzo fsollazzo@edf.org
Anne Visintin anne.visintin@fourtold.eu
Notes to editors
The Methane Menace
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas identified as the second-largest contributor to global warming, with a warming potential over 80 times greater than that of carbon dioxide during the first 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere. Atmospheric concentration of methane is increasing faster now than at any time since the 1980s. Methane emissions from human activity are responsible for at least 25% of today's warming. The oil and gas sector stands out as a significant contributor, with methane emissions about 70% higher than official data shows and expected to increase.
About Environmental Defense Fund
One of the world’s leading international nonprofit organizations, Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org and edfeurope.org) creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships. With more than 3 million members and activists and offices in the United States, China, India, Mexico, Indonesia and the European Union, EDF’s scientists, economists, attorneys and policy experts are working in 28 countries and across the E.U. to turn our solutions into action. Connect with us on Twitter @EnvDefenseEuro
Environmental Defense Fund Europe (edfeurope.org) is a registered charity (charity number 1164661) and a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England and Wales (company number 09217493) and in the Netherlands (RSIN 859171814).
Footnotes
Members of the ENVI and ITRE committees of the European Parliament will vote on their position on the Commission proposal. If adopted, the ENVI/ITRE report will then go to a vote at Plenary and form the basis for trilogue negotiations with the Council of the EU. If an agreement is reached, the regulation will be adopted and enforced on a specified date.
At the COP26 UN Climate Conference, the EU together with the US launched the Global Methane Pledge, which by now over 150 countries have signed on to, committing to reduce their methane emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.
Using regulatory levers domestically will allow the EU to extend requirements to imports – a huge opportunity to positively slow global warming. Particularly considering that Nigeria and nine other countries, including Algeria, account for 75% of global gas flaring and 50% of global oil production [World Band Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report 2022]. The nine other countries include Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, and China.
The EU imports 90% of its gas, its ‘methane footprint’ outside its borders is 3 to 8 times higher than that from domestic gas (Carbon Limits)
Analysis by S&P Global, commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund, estimates that by cutting these preventable losses in six key export regions, more than 80 billion cubic meters (bcm) of methane could be captured and profitably brought to market. That is almost 60% of Europe’s pre-war annual imports from Russia. The analysis lays out specific steps that could bring 40 bcm of new supply to market – more than the total annual gas demand of France – in just two to three years, using export capacity either in place or under construction today. Capturing this gas would avert 760 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent, an amount roughly the size of Germany’s total annual emissions.