5.5.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 184/109 Thursday 21 October 2021
2.
Highlights the importance of achieving immediate and rapid reductions in methane emissions this decade as one of the most effective measures for EU climate action, paying attention to economic and social sustainability; notes that methane emissions reductions complement the necessary reductions in CO2 emissions and that many of the emissions cuts required by the Paris Agreement could already be achieved with low-cost and technically feasible methane mitigation; calls on the Commission and the Member States to suggest and negotiate a binding global agreement on methane mitigation at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow in line with the modelled pathways that limit global warming to 1,5 oC from the IPCC 1,5 oC Special Report, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and the UNEP Global Methane Assessment; notes that the UNEP Global Methane Assessment quantified the global benefits for all market and non-market impacts to be approximately USD 4 300 per tonne of methane reduced and that approximately 1 430 annual premature deaths could be prevented per million tonne reduced; believes that an impact assessment accompanying the upcoming legislative proposal should therefore consider the costs of the proposed actions as well as the costs of inaction or delayed action;
3.
Considers it of the utmost importance that all methane-emitting sectors reduce their emissions; acknowledges the need to ensure a just transition for sectors wherein methane emission reductions may have socioeconomic impacts;
4.
Underlines the importance of adopting mandatory monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) for all methane-emitting sectors, including through the adoption of rules, standards and methodologies; underlines the importance, moreover, of adopting mandatory leak detection and repair (LDAR) programmes covering the entire supply chain in the energy and petrochemical sectors; calls on the Commission to seek effective tools to improve the quality of measurement and reporting of these emissions in all sectors concerned; stresses that reporting data on methane emissions should be public or, in the case of sensitive information, available to the competent authorities and independent verifiers; stresses, nevertheless, that a lack of data is no reason not to proceed with action to reduce and mitigate anthropogenic methane emissions;
5.
Underscores the need to revise EU climate and environmental legislation in a coherent manner to reflect enhanced ambition in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement; calls on the Commission to propose an overarching and binding legislative framework on methane emissions, to avoid unnecessary overlaps between the legislation, to ensure the consistency of the National Emission Reduction Commitments Directive (15) with meeting the EU’s objectives on air quality, its 2030 climate goals, and its objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest, as enshrined in the European Climate Law and, accordingly, to revise the National Emission Reduction Commitments Directive as soon as possible; underlines that the binding emissions reduction targets for Member States in the Effort Sharing Regulation (16) is one of the key legislative tools to reduce methane emissions as part of overall greenhouse gas reductions, together with the upcoming revision of the IED and other legislation;
6.
Believes that as part of the overall review of applicable legislation to reach the targets set out by the European Climate Law, it is appropriate to adopt binding EU methane reduction targets; notes the proposal in the Methane Strategy to review the National Emission Reduction Commitments Directive and welcomes the inclusion of methane among the regulated pollutants; calls on the Commission, furthermore, to include methane in the list of polluting substances laid down in Annex II to the IED and to expand the scope of the IED to better cover the methane-emitting sectors; believes that national targets under the Effort Sharing Regulation as regards methane emissions must be designed with full regard for the higher short-term climate impact of methane and the potential of reducing methane in the atmosphere to contribute to climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest;
7.
Stresses the importance of developing an EU inventory of best practices and available technologies to promote the wider uptake of innovative mitigating actions across all the relevant sectors; underlines that such practices and technologies should require a robust scientific basis and should be in line with environmental objectives and that differences in access for operators to these practices and technologies need to be studied;
(15) (16)
Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and repealing Directive 2001/81/EC (OJ L 344, 17.12.2016, p. 1).
Regulation (EU) 2018/842 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030 contributing to climate action to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 26).