In a move that will help tackle one of the biggest and most solvable contributors to the climate crisis, major players in the oil and gas industry have agreed to report methane emissions with a new, much higher level of transparency, announced the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Methane released directly into the atmosphere has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, according to a statement from UNEP. Actions to cut methane emissions can yield a near-term reduction in the rate of warming, complementing efforts to decarbonize the world’s energy and transport systems while also delivering air quality benefits.
The Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) is a Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) initiative led by UNEP, the European Commission (EC), and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Already 62 companies with assets on five continents representing 30 per cent of the world’s oil and gas production have joined the partnership.
At the core of the effort is a comprehensive measurement-based methane-reporting framework that will make it easier for officials, investors and the public to accurately track and compare performance across companies in ways that have not been possible to this point.
“Reducing methane emissions is critical for natural gas to play a role in the energy transition and this new partnership will foster the sharing of industry best practices, particularly on non-operated assets, and improve monitoring” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman & CEO of Total.
In order to support the realisation of global climate targets, OGMP 2.0 aims to deliver a 45 per cent reduction in the industry’s methane emissions by 2025, and a 60-75 per cent reduction by 2030.
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