European Commission Joins Methane to Markets Partnership

WASHINGTON, DC, September 25, 2007 (ENS) - An international partnership to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas methane expanded today as the European Commission joined the United States and 19 other countries in finding ways to promote the recovery of methane and its use for energy.

The primary component of natural gas, methane accounts for 16 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities. As a greenhouse gas, methane is over 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping the Sun's heat close to the planet. But when recovered from landfills, coal mines, or animal feeding operations, methane can become a clean-burning fuel.

The Methane to Markets Partnership was launched in November 2004 as a public-private partnership focusing on reducing four sources of methane emissions - animal waste management, coal mines, landfills, and oil and gas systems.

European Energy Commissioner Andris Pielbags (Photo courtesy EC)

European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said, "The European Commission looks forward to collaborating within the Methane to Markets Partnership to further our joint goals of reducing climate change by utilizing the EU’s existing capacities in methane capture and use technologies."

The European Commission is the first multi-country entity to join Methane to Markets. Four EC member states - Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom - are already members of the partnership.

"The Bush administration appreciates that the challenge of global climate change is exactly that - global," said Stephen Johnson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which plays a lead role in the partnership.

"By working with our European neighbors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Methane to Markets Partnership, we are moving together toward a cleaner, healthier, more productive world," Johnson said.

Because methane is both a powerful greenhouse gas and short-lived compared to carbon dioxide, "achieving significant reductions would have a rapid and significant effect on atmospheric warming potential," the EPA says.

By 2015, Methane to Markets has the potential to deliver annual reductions in methane emissions of up to 50 million metric tons of carbon equivalent. The EPA says this amount is roughly equal to removing 33 million cars from the road for one year, planting 55 million acres of trees, or eliminating emissions from fifty 500 megawatt coal-fired power plants.

Member countries work in collaboration with over 600 project network members from the private sector, multilateral development banks, and other governmental and nongovernmental organizations.

A new technique increases methane recovery from animal wastes. (Photo courtesy Holloman Environmental)

The International Methane Capture Marketplace at the Expo will bring together international projects in search of financing with potential investors and technology partners. As many as 30 potential new projects will be showcased at the conference.

The U.S. EPA and China's National Development and Reform Commission will co-host the Expo at Beijing's China World hotel, in cooperation with several Chinese ministries and corporations. Up to 600 participants from the public and private sectors are expected to attend.

Speakers, policy and technical workshops and a business leadership roundtable will focus on how methane projects yield economic, environmental and safety benefits through increased use of existing technologies.

In addition to the European Commission, Methane to Markets partners include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.

On September 18, the EPA awarded $2 million for projects that will enhance the capture and use of methane to nine countries that are members of the Methane to Markets Partnership.

Mexico's Border Environment Cooperation Commission will receive $190,000 for landfill gas recovery project feasibility studies in the city of Satillo, Coahuila and the city of Hermosillo, Sonora.

China's Coal Information Institute will receive $100,000 for a demonstration project of power generation using low quality coal methane at a coal mine in the Anhui or Henan coal mining areas.

In Brazil, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability will receive $140,000 for a local methane partnership for emissions reduction at municipal landfills in three to five participant cities to be identified.

Russia will receive $150,000 for a Clean Energy Technology Information Center in Moscow.

For a complete list of project awards, click here.

"An investment in methane capture and use projects is an investment in a more environmentally sustainable future," said Bob Meyers, principal deputy assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. "By financing international projects through the Methane to Markets Partnership, the U.S. government and its global partners are cutting greenhouse gases while promoting economic development and energy security."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.