Over 120 countries have joined the Global Methane Pledge, which seeks to collectively reduce all methane emissions from human activities by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030. According to analysis from the International Energy Agency, strong action to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sector could bring the world half-way to meeting that target.
The Methane Guiding Principles (MGP) initiative was formed to catalyse action along the natural gas supply chain to reduce methane emissions. In joining the MGPs, companies commit to advocating for sound policy and regulation on methane emissions, with a focus on regulations that incentivise early action, drive performance improvements, facilitate proper enforcement, and support flexibility and innovation.
As part of this commitment on policy and regulation, the MGPs have developed a new Methane Policy Toolkit that is aimed to support governments as they develop or update policies and regulations to drive down oil and gas methane emissions and work towards the goals set in the Global Methane Pledge. The Toolkit aims to connect policy makers and regulators to key resources and institutions supporting their efforts.
The Toolkit consists of three main components. The partners section describes the different organisations and initiatives that are working on reducing oil and gas methane emissions. There are numerous organisations active in this space, and each one has a different particular topical or geographical focus. Some track methane emissions, others support policy development or abatement projects, while yet others aim to drive better industry standards and kick-start new technologies. The Toolkit aims to map out these different institutions to ensure that policy makers know where to turn depending on their needs.
The resources section introduce tools and publications that provide a technical and institutional basis for policy action. There is already a lot of material available to inform action on methane, covering many different aspects of the problem – from monitoring and measurement to abatement technologies. The Toolkit gathers all of the key resources in one place to help orient regulators to the landscape of materials and resources that are available.
Finally, the case studies section highlights key examples from across the MGP contributing institutions and companies. Although there remains a lot of work to be done, there have already been a number of important success stories on methane emissions. Some governments have already started to regulate methane emissions, and in parallel, companies have made great strides in improving measurement and management of emissions. The Toolkit collects case studies covering a number of key examples to help policy makers understand what is possible.
All of these materials are available in the Methane Policy Toolkit.