Two weeks before the start of 28th Climate Summit (COP28) in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), this coming November 30, the The European Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement this Wednesday on a regulation for reduce the methane emissions in fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal), with new requirements for fossil energy companies operating in the EU to measure, report and verify what they put into the atmosphere in order to minimize leaks.

He methane It is a powerful greenhouse gas and air pollutant, and is responsible for a third of current global warming. It comes from a wide range of sectors, such as agriculture, waste and energy, which are responsible for 53%, 26% and 19% of methane emissions, respectively.

The EU has joined the Global Methane Commitment, which aims to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030, which could eliminate warming of more than 0.2 degrees by the middle of this century. In December 2021, the European Commission presented a proposal for a regulation to reduce methane emissions in the energy sector.

The community journey will conclude when the provisional political agreement adopted this Wednesday is formally endorsed by both the European Council and the European Parliament. This is the first EU-wide legislation on this matter and covers direct methane emissions from the oil, fossil gas and coal sectors. The regulation is part of the European Green Deal so that the European Union reduces net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% until 2030.

“The text represents a crucial contribution to climate action, as methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, second only to carbon dioxide in its overall contribution to climate change and responsible for a third of current climate warming. Reduce methane emissions will help us achieve the EU’s climate goals,” as explained Teresa Ribera, third vice president of the acting Government and minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.

  • The regulation will force the fossil gas, oil and coal industry to adequately measure, monitor, report and verify their methane emissions according to the highest standards and take measures to reduce them.

Thus, the agreement requires operators to periodically report to the competent authorities on the quantification and measurement of methane emissions at the source level, including non-operated assets, and obliges oil and gas companies to carry out periodic inspections. of its equipment to detect and repair methane leaks in the EU territory within specific deadlines.

Furthermore, and on the other hand, prohibits routine venting and flaring by the oil and gas sectors, and restricts non-routine venting and flaring to unavoidable circumstances, for example, for safety reasons or in the event of equipment malfunction. It also limits ventilation of thermal coal mines from 2027, with stricter conditions coming into effect after 2031. And it asks companies in the oil, gas and coal sectors to take an inventory of closed, idle assets , plugged and abandoned, such as wells and mines, to control their emissions and adopt a plan to mitigate these emissions as soon as possible.