The European Commission proposes a strategy to curb methane emissions. It includes improved satellite detection and targeted research to reduce emissions.
On 14 October 2020, the EC presented a Communication that outlines a strategy to curb methane emissions. On the molecular level, methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and is second to the latter in its overall contribution to climate change. Thus, the EC indicated already in the European Green Deal Communication in late 2019 that methane emissions needed to be addressed to reach climate neutrality by 2050. The EC argues that a large portion of methane emissions could be mitigated cost-effectively. At a global level, reducing methane emissions associated with human activity by 50% over the next 30 years could reduce global temperature change by 0.18 degrees Celsius. Approximately 41% of global methane emissions come from natural sources, like wetlands or wildfires. The remaining 59% are anthropogenic, of which the largest sources are agriculture, fossil fuel production and use, and waste. The EC will review relevant EU climate and environmental legislation to more effectively address methane-related emissions and provide targeted support to accelerate the development of the market for biogas from sustainable sources, such as manure or organic waste and residues via upcoming policy initiatives. A pilot project is planned to support rural areas and farming communities in building biogas projects and accessing funds for biogas production from agricultural waste.
The EC plans to improve the measurement and reporting of methane emissions through sector-specific initiatives and to strengthen satellite-based detection and monitoring of methane emissions through the EU’s earth-observation programme Copernicus. Satellite technology is key to identifying hotspots and guiding leak detection and repair on the ground as well as reconciling bottom-up data from company reporting. To curb methane emissions in the agriculture sector, the EC foresees to include targeted research into the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024. This will include research on the different factors that effectively lead to methane emission reductions, focusing on technology and nature based solutions as well as on the factors leading to dietary shift. To address emissions from waste, the EC considers proposing targeted research on waste to biomethane technologies in the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan. In order to tackle methane leakage or emissions from coalmines or oil and gas wells after their closure, the EC will propose to reform the Research Fund for Coal and Steel in order to also support research in this field.