European Union will reach United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) will start in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) at the end of the month and a new challenge commitment is in the bag. global warming: A political agreement at European level reduce methane emissions The agreement, which still needs to be ratified by the Council and the European Parliament, forms an important part of the energy sector in Europe and global supply chains. European Green Deal Reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
This represents a very important contribution to climate action, as methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, second only to carbon dioxide in terms of its overall contribution to climate change, and responsible for a third of current climate warming. Reducing methane emissions will help us achieve the EU’s climate targets,” celebrated the vice president for ecological transition on behalf of the current EU presidency. Teresa Ribera. “Methane was a weak point in our climate strategy. It is no longer one thing,” stressed the French liberal and co-sponsor of the European Parliament report. Pascal Canfin. “We will go to the Dubai Conference with our hands full,” added the co-sponsor. Jutta Paulus.
The new regulation proposed by the European Commission in December 2021 introduces new requirements for the first time. specific deadlines and frequenciesso that the sectors OilHE gas and coal Measure, report, verify and enforce methane emissions Mitigation measures To prevent such emissions, including methane leak detection and repair and limiting ventilation and flammability. The standard also includes: global monitoring tools Ensuring transparency on methane emissions from oil, gas and coal imports into the EU.
Detection and repair program
For example, operators in affected sectors have a methane leak detection and repair program Applying to the relevant national authorities nine months after the regulation comes into force and carrying out the first leak detection and repair work in existing sites within 12 months. Additionally, any component leaking methane above certain levels will need to be repaired or replaced immediately upon detection or no later than five days later. The agreement also includes a ban on venting and burning methane from drainage stations that release methane into the atmosphere until 2025, and from ventilation wells until 2027, with some exceptions. It will also force Twenty-Seven to inventory inactive or abandoned wells and create mitigation plans.
when it comes coalThe agreement includes a commitment to continuously measure and report methane emissions from the operation of underground mines and open pit mines. Governments also need to create a public inventory of mines closed or abandoned over the past 70 years and measure their emissions, excluding those that have been flooded for more than 10 years. The text states that combustion will be banned from 2025, that ventilation will be banned from 2027 in coal mines that emit more than 5 tons of methane per kiloton of mined coal, and from 2031 in coal mines that emit more than 3 tons. Meanwhile, venting and burning in closed and abandoned mines will be banned from January 1, 2030. Finally, importers of oil, gas and coal will also be required to demonstrate equivalent monitoring requirements, reporting and verification at the production level.
EU is part of the EU Global Methane Commitment More than 150 countries have so far signed up to this project, which aims to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% compared to 2020 levels by 2030, thus eliminating warming above 0.2°C by 2050. committed, gases from a wide range of sectors such as agriculture, waste and energy, which are responsible for 53%, 26% and 19% of EU methane emissions respectively. European Environment Agency.