MOSCOW (MRC) -- Environmental Defense Fund Europe welcomes the European Commission's new legislative proposal to reduce methane pollution in the energy sector, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.
While the package offers important technical measures for operators within the EU, however, it is silent on the vast majority of Europe's methane footprint, which comes from imported natural gas.
"Imports make up 85% of European gas consumption, but most methane pollution from these sources occurs before the gas enters the EU. Yet under this proposal, these methane emissions remain unregulated. We have health and environmental rules for other imports, so why not natural gas?"
"Cutting methane pollution is our best, fastest opportunity to slow the rate of warming now, while we move to decarbonize the economy. Unfortunately, the new EU plan fails to seize the moment, said Jill Duggan, Executive Director, Environmental Defense Fund Europe.
"The onus now shifts to the European Parliament and Council to effectively address the bulk of Europe's methane footprint. Both can take inspiration from the international momentum generated around methane action in 2021.
"Environmental Defense Fund Europe still firmly believes that Europe has a leading role to play in reducing methane emissions. We look forward to working with MEPs, the Council and the Commission to make that a reality."
At the Glasgow UN Climate Talks, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and US President Joe Biden announced a global pledge with 100 plus countries to cut methane emissions 30% by 2030. Methane pollution from fossil fuels, agriculture and waste account for over one-quarter of today's warming. Heightened awareness over the need for climate actions that target the pollutants affecting both the scale and the speed at which the planet is warming has brought acute focus on methane.
As MRC wrote previously, the European Union plans to capture five MM tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year by 2030 through technologies, and create an EU system to certify carbon removals, according to a draft document seen by Reuters in early December. The EU has committed to reach net zero emissions by 2050, eliminating the more than 3 B tons of CO2 equivalent it currently emits each year. To help meet that target, Brussels wants to scale up carbon removals both by using technology to capture CO2 and place it in long-term storage sites, and by encouraging farmers and landowners to store more CO2 in trees, soil and wetlands.
We remind that in November 2021, a coalition of 19 countries including Britain and the United States agreed to create zero emissions shipping trade routes between ports to speed up the decarbonization of the global maritime industry.
We also remind that ExxonMobil last month offered to lease 500,000 acres off the Texas coast, securing space for what could become a massive project to capture and store carbon emissions. Under pressure by investors to address climate change, Exxon in April floated an up to USD100 B industry hub to collect planet-warming emissions from Gulf Coast petrochemical plants and bury them under the Gulf of Mexico.
Besides, ExxonMobil also said earlier last month it is on track to meet its 2025 emissions reduction targets by the end of this year - four years earlier than planned - and has vowed to ramp up investments to further cut emissions.
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