COP28: Methane pledges to feature prominently at Dubai climate talks: Kerry

Methane emissions will be in the spotlight at this year's UN Climate Change Conference, with serious pledges likely to be made both by countries and companies, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said Nov. 29.

"This year, we will be adding a very important contribution with respect to methane which will involve both oil and gas companies as well as countries, as well as a special effort by China and the US... to address the methane issue," said Kerry, speaking at a press briefing on the eve of the COP28 summit in Dubai.

Methane is a much more powerful climate pollutant than carbon dioxide, with estimates suggesting it is more than 80 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year time frame.

Kerry said serious commitments for reducing methane emissions are needed as this is the "easiest, quickest, fastest, cheapest way to begin to get gains" against global warming.

Methane is responsible for 50% of global warming that has taken place, and it is far more damaging than CO2 because methane in its first 20 years is 80 to 100 times more destructive than CO2, he added.

Energy sector focus

The subject of methane emissions from the energy sector was always expected to figure highly in COP28 talks.

The energy sector -- including oil, natural gas, coal and bioenergy -- accounts for nearly 40% of methane emissions from human activity.

Many countries and governments are gradually starting to enforce measures to curtail methane leaks and emissions.

In November, the EU reached a landmark political agreement on a regulation for tracking and reducing methane emissions in the energy sector -- the first-ever EU law to curb methane emissions.

The agreement is designed to reduce energy sector methane emissions both in Europe and in the EU's global supply chains.

The regulation introduces new requirements for the oil, gas and coal sectors to measure, report and verify methane emissions, as well as to put in place mitigation measures to avoid emissions. These include detecting and repairing methane leaks and limiting venting and flaring.

Similarly, in early-November, China issued an action plan to control methane emissions that establishes a broad framework for measurement and identifies selected industries for future implementation.

China's main targets under the plan are to gradually establish a system for its methane emissions policy, including existing technologies and other industry standards. China also aims to reduce methane emissions from the agriculture and livestock industries, and better utilize energy sources like urban domestic waste.

According to the International Energy Agency, if all methane leaks from fossil fuel operations in 2021 had been captured and sold, then gas markets would have been supplied with an additional 180 Bcm of gas.

The IEA said that was equivalent to all the gas used in Europe's power sector. Marketing gas that is lost would also be profitable for producers given sustained high international gas prices.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the benchmark Dutch TTF month-ahead price at an all-time high of Eur319.98/MWh on Aug. 26, 2022.

Prices are now lower thanks to healthy storage levels and demand curtailments but remain historically high, with Platts assessing the TTF month-ahead price on Nov. 29 at Eur44.75/MWh.