BERNAMA – COMPREHENSIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH EFFORTS NEEDED TO DEVELOP GHG REPORTING GUIDELINES

By Siti Radziah Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) — Comprehensive, interdisciplinary scientific research conducted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, government agencies, industries and research institutes can play a significant role in developing local greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting guidelines.

According to a joint research by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), this initiative can be achieved by promoting interactions among stakeholders.

The study, titled ‘Analysis of methane sources in Malaysia: data review and future research’, highlighted a significant lack of up-to-date activity data, as well as issues such as omitting natural gas discharge data and relying on outdated studies, which makes it difficult to accurately assess emissions.

In terms of methane monitoring, although efforts have been made, Malaysia has been hampered in establishing consistent baselines due to operational issues and sparse monitoring stations. Despite the potential for advanced monitoring through remote sensing technologies, research in this area remains limited, according to the joint study.

Associate Professor Dr Yusri Yusup from USM’s School of Industrial Technology said that until now there was no regulatory framework that the industry could use to standardise greenhouse gas reporting.

“There is no regulatory framework that we can all apply so that everyone reports the same thing or at least reports to the same standard. There is a standard, but they use the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0) for reporting, but they are not required to disclose the details.

“Ultimately, they publish the report, but in an aggregated form,” he told Bernama recently.

Yusri added that the guidelines should be mandatory and industry representatives should report according to standard guidelines.

“But before that, they need to figure out what kind of report they want the industry to do. The industry will adapt, but they need to be pushed,” he added.

According to the study, Malaysia relies heavily on Tier 1 emission factors to report greenhouse gas emissions and occasionally borrows data from neighbouring countries

The report found that regulatory standards for methane control are still not mandatory and data availability remains problematic, including limited public access, confidentiality concerns and operational challenges.

Challenges to reducing methane emissions in Malaysia include financial constraints, stakeholder engagement, data sharing limitations, and slow private sector adoption of renewable energy. Lack of established guidelines and limited focus on methane research further exacerbate these challenges.

“There is no incentive to do it. It is quite difficult because there are many people involved, so there is the problem of financing one thing, (another thing is) the issue of human resources, problems of cooperation, problems of cooperation. They do not share, they start with feelings that people will not share. All these things contribute to the difficulties.

“Ultimately, scientists work in their silos,” Yusri said.

OGMP 2.0 is the flagship programme of the United Nations Environment Programme covering the reporting and mitigation of impacts of oil and gas extraction.

Studies have shown that the waste management sector is the largest contributor to methane emissions, followed by energy, agriculture, forestry and other land-use sectors.

Research shows that accurately assessing methane emissions is essential to inform policymaking and mitigation actions.

In recent decades, the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere has become a pressing concern for scientists, policymakers and the international community.

Of these greenhouse gases, methane has become a major gas, accounting for about 16 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.

While carbon dioxide has long been a central focus of discussions about climate change, methane’s potential as a short-lived climate pollutant requires immediate attention.

The Malaysian Department of Environment measured air methane concentrations from 1997 to 2010 at 20 stations across Malaysia.

Methane was also measured by the Department of Meteorology at Global Atmosphere Watch stations in Malaysia. The joint study was conducted between January and September 2023.

— BERNAMA