PRESS RELEASE : Joint Declaration from Energy Importers and Exporters on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Fossil Fuels [November 2022]

The press release issued by the European Commission on 11 November 2022.

The United States, European Union, Japan, Canada, Norway, Singapore, and the United Kingdom are committed to taking rapid action to address the dual climate and energy security crises that the world faces.

We affirm the need to accelerate global transitions to clean energy, recognizing that reliance on unabated fossil fuels leaves us vulnerable to market volatility and geopolitical challenges.

We also recognize that under IPCC 1.5°C-aligned scenarios, fossil fuel consumption will persist, at rapidly declining levels, as the global energy transition unfolds. As such, we emphasize that dramatically reducing methane, CO2, and other greenhouse gas emissions across the fossil fuel energy value chain is a necessary complement to global energy decarbonization in order to limit warming to 1.5°C.

We commit to taking immediate action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil energy production and consumption, particularly to reduce methane emissions. We emphasize that reducing methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from the fossil energy sector enhances energy security by reducing avoidable routine flaring, venting, and leakage that wastes natural gas. We also note that these measures will also improve health outcomes by eliminating black carbon and other associated air pollutants.

We call on fossil energy importers to take steps to reduce the methane emissions associated with their energy consumption, which can spur emissions reductions across the value chain. We also call on fossil energy producers to implement projects and supporting policies and measures to achieve emissions reductions across fossil energy operations.

We call for global action to reduce methane emissions in the fossil energy sector to the fullest extent practicable, with the aim to reduce warming by 0.1°C by midcentury, consistent with International Energy Agency findings of the near-term warming reduction effects of fully deploying technically feasible mitigation in this sector.

We reaffirm the call to action under the Global Methane Pledge to reduce collective anthropogenic methane emissions by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030 as an essential strategy to reduce warming in the near term and keep a 1.5°C limit on temperature rise within reach. We recognize that the fossil energy sector must lead in rapid methane mitigation given the abundance of technically feasible and cost-effective mitigation measures available in the fossil energy sector, as called for in the Global Methane Pledge Energy Pathway.

Recognizing the urgency of reducing emissions from fossil energy value chains, we commit to working towards the creation of an international market for fossil energy that minimizes flaring, methane, and CO2 emissions across the value chain to the fullest extent practicable, as we also work to phase down fossil fuel consumption. We support the development of frameworks or standards for fossil energy suppliers to provide accurate, transparent, and reliable information to purchasers about the methane and CO2 emissions associated with their value chains.

We will support domestic and international action to achieve emissions reductions across the fossil energy value chain, such as:

• Adopting policies and measures to achieve rapid and sustained reductions in methane and CO2 emissions across the fossil energy value chain:
  • Adopting policies and measures to eliminate routine venting and flaring and to conduct regular leak detection and repair campaigns in upstream, midstream, and downstream oil and gas operations.
  • Adopting policies and measures to capture, utilize, or destroy methane in the coal sector to the fullest extent practicable, including through pre-mine drainage, coal mine methane destruction, and ventilation air methane destruction.
  • Putting in place measures to require or strongly incentivize reductions in greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil energy imports.
• Adopting policies and measures to support robust measurement; monitoring, reporting, and verification; and transparency for methane emissions data in the fossil energy sector:
  • Adopting policies and measures to improve the accuracy of methane emissions data, and affirming the need to enhance greenhouse gas inventories, including through improving data availability and through direct measurements at source level for gas and oil, in view of moving towards highest tier IPCC methods for emissions quantification based on direct measurement, stochastic sampling, emissions factors, and other IPCC-approved approaches, and improving monitoring, reporting, and verification mechanisms as new data becomes available.
  • Supporting frameworks or standards to improve the accuracy, availability, and transparency of fossil energy methane emissions and emissions intensity data at the cargo, portfolio, jurisdiction, and country level, including consideration of accepted protocols such as the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP2.0) standard and tools such as independent verification that can support robust data collection and reporting.
  • Supporting international efforts to improve methane emissions measurement; monitoring, reporting, and verification; and transparency, including through partnership with the UNEP International Methane Emissions Observatory and other multilateral partners.
  • Improving data quality on fossil energy methane, including for abandoned wells and mines, non-commercial operations, or retired infrastructure.
• Strengthening coalitions to reduce methane and CO2 emissions in value chains of internationally traded fossil fuels:
  • Engaging public, municipal, and private sector fossil energy producers and purchasers to leverage contracts and other instruments, as appropriate, to improve methane and CO2 emissions performance from traded fossil energy resources, including efforts to decrease the methane and other greenhouse gas intensity per unit of energy delivered.
  • Encouraging companies’ participation in the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP2.0) standard.
• Mobilizing technical assistance and financing for methane and CO2 mitigation in the fossil energy sector:
  • Enhancing the provision of technical assistance and investment for methane and CO2 mitigation along the fossil energy value chain.
  • Developing financial tools and aligning financial standards to support methane and CO2 mitigation in the fossil energy sector.