In a move that will help tackle one of the biggest and most solvable contributors to the climate crisis, major players in the oil and gas industry agreed to report methane emissions with a new, much higher level of transparency.
Methane released directly into the atmosphere is a highly potent greenhouse gas, with more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over 20 years. Actions to cut methane emissions can yield a near-term reduction in the rate of warming, complementing efforts to decarbonize the world’s energy and transport systems while also delivering air quality benefits.
The Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) is a Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) initiative led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the European Commission (EC), and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Already 62 companies with assets on five continents representing 30% of the world’s oil and gas production have joined the partnership. The new OGMP2.0 framework is the new gold standard reporting framework that will improve the reporting accuracy and transparency of anthropogenic methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.
At the core of the effort is a comprehensive measurement-based methane-reporting framework that will make it easier for officials, investors, and the public to accurately track and compare performance across companies in ways that have not been possible to this point.
As stipulated in the EU methane strategy, the European Commission is planning to elaborate a legislative proposal on compulsory measurement, reporting, and verification for all energy-related methane emissions, building on the OGMP 2.0 framework
Crucially, the OGMP 2.0 includes not only a company’s operations but also the many joint ventures responsible for a substantial share of their production. The OGMP 2.0 framework applies to the full oil and gas value chain, not only upstream production but also midstream transportation and downstream processing and refining areas with substantial emissions potential that are often left out of reporting today.
The goal is to enable the oil and gas industry to realize deep reductions in methane emissions over the next decade in a way that is transparent to civil society and governments.
To support the realization of global climate targets, OGMP 2.0 aims to deliver a 45% reduction in the industry’s methane emissions by 2025 and a 60-75% reduction by 2030.
