EurOil: EU lawmakers back binding methane targets

EU lawmakers have backed imposing binding targets for cutting methane emissions across multiple sectors, the European Parliament announced on October 21.

In a resolution on the EU’s strategy for cutting methane emissions, MEPs voted 563 to 122 in favour of introducing binding measures and targets on methane abatement in order to significantly reduce emissions by 2030, in line with Paris goals.

Mandatory monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) measures should be imposed and mandatory leak detection and repair (LDAR) programmes should be imposed for all methane-emitting sectors, the resolution stated.

“MEPs want to phase out all fossil fuels in the EU as soon as possible. As imports make up over 80% of the oil and gas consumed in the EU, fossil fuels should only be imported if they comply with EU regulations, MEPs demand,” Parliament said. “Leak detection efforts should be boosted with strict reporting and a requirement to repair potential leaks within a clearly defined period.”

The EU is looking to establish a leadership position in the drive to reduce global emissions of methane, which is a far more potent greenhouse gas (GHG) than CO2. In September it agreed with the US on delivering a 30% reduction in methane emissions within a decade, and 36 countries have already joined the pledge.

In other news, PGNiG has submitted its case against the certification of Nord Stream 2’s operator to the German energy ministry, arguing that the pipeline will undermine European energy security.

The Polish state-owned gas company said that Nord Stream 2 did not increase Europe’s access to gas, but simply bypassed traditional supply routes through Ukraine and Poland.

"The current situation on the EU gas market proves the scale of the risks for security of supplies created by the Nord Stream 2 project," PGNiG CEO Pawel Majewski commented. "Suggestions that additional gas supplies are possible only through Nord Stream 2 are the manifestation of pressure on the certification procedure and prove that the project is aimed at bypassing the traditional transit routes."

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