EU ministers give the final green light to the regulation on limiting methane emissions in the energy sector – The Sofia Globe

The Council of the European Union adopted a regulation on tracking and limiting methane emissions on May 27, according to a statement by the EU Council.

The regulation, which is part of the EU “Fit for 55” package, introduces new requirements for measuring, reporting and verifying methane emissions in the energy sector.

Mitigation measures, such as detecting and repairing methane leaks and limiting venting and flaring, will aim to avoid methane emissions.

Global monitoring tools will ensure transparency of methane emissions from oil, gas and coal imports into the EU.

Tinne Van der Straeten, Belgian Minister for Energy Methan – whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council – said: “Methane, a short-lived climate pollutant up to 30 times more potent than CO2, is the second most important greenhouse gas.

“To achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C and achieving climate neutrality by 2050, we must reduce methane emissions from the oil, gas and coal sectors. This legislation ensures that emissions are properly monitored and problems in these value chains are addressed,” Van der Straeten said.

Operators will have to measure methane emissions at source level and produce monitoring reports, which will be checked by independent accredited verifiers.

EU Member States will maintain and regularly update an inventory of all wells, as well as mitigation plans for inactive wells, to prevent any risks to public health and the environment from methane emissions.

They will also measure and monitor emissions from coal mines that have been closed or abandoned for less than 70 years, because methane continues to be released even after production has stopped.

National authorities will carry out periodic inspections to check and ensure operators’ compliance with the requirements of the Regulation, including taking further remedial measures.

Under the new regulations, operators will have to detect and repair methane leaks. Operators will have to conduct methane leakage tests on various types of infrastructure at set intervals.

Operators will then be required to repair or replace all components above a certain level of methane leakage immediately after detection and no later than five days after detection. The deadline for full repair under the new rules is 30 days.

In addition, the regulation prohibits degassing and flares of methane from dewatering stations until 2025 and from ventilation shafts until 2027, unless it is strictly necessary or an emergency or failure occurs.

Methane emissions from energy imports to the EU will also be tracked. The new rules will introduce global monitoring tools to increase transparency of methane emissions from oil, gas and coal imports into the EU.

The regulation will enter into force on the 20th day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. The European Commission will review the application of the regulation in 2028, including: the level of emission reduction achieved.

On May 27, in another decision, the EU Council adopted a regulation establishing framework measures to strengthen the European production ecosystem based on net zero technology, better known as the “Net Zero Industrial Law”.

The regulation aims to boost the industrial deployment of net zero emissions technologies that are needed to meet the EU’s climate goals, by using the power of the single market to strengthen Europe’s position as a leader in green industrial technologies.

Progress towards achieving the targets of the Net Zero Industry Act will be measured against two indicative benchmarks. First, production capacity for net zero technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and heat pumps, reaching 40 percent of EU implementation needs.

Secondly, a specific target to increase the Union’s share in these technologies to reach 15% of global production by 2040.

In addition, the Net Zero Industry Act sets an annual capacity to inject at least 50 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030 into geological storage sites in the EU.

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