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LEAK: Draft EU law cracks down on methane leaks from fossil fuels

(EurActiv, 25 Nov 2021) A European Commission proposal to tackle climate-wrecking methane emissions includes a ban on routine flaring and venting as well as penalties for leaking fossil fuel infrastructure but doesn’t contain binding emissions reduction targets, according to a draft seen by EURACTIV.

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas which has more than 80 times the planet-warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period in the atmosphere.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, methane emissions account for about half of the 1.0 degree Celsius net rise in global average temperature that has occurred since the pre-industrial era.

Up until now, little has been done on the regulatory front to reduce methane emissions, but the European Commission looks set to change that by proposing a regulation aimed at cutting down methane emissions as part of a gas package of legislation due on 14 December.

While waste and agriculture are the biggest producers of methane, the focus of the legislation is to reduce emissions in the fossil fuel sector, which are the cheapest and easiest to tackle. Those include emissions from oil and gas exploration and production, transmission and distribution as well as coal mines – whether they’re already closed or still in operation.

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EurActiv, 25 Nov 2021: LEAK: Draft EU law cracks down on methane leaks from fossil fuels