Methane regulation in the EU: Stakeholder perspectives on MRV and emissions reductions

Abstract

Methane is potent greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting for 11% of all EU emissions, but in contrast to CO2 it has received relatively little attention. Although methane is regulated under the EU Effort Sharing framework, this policy lacks methane-specific regulations or targets, leaving the Member States considerable discretion over whether to prioritize methane reduction or not. The European Commission presented a proposal for EU methane regulation on 15 December 2021. However, our understanding of how to design measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) regulation for methane is limited. MRV involves many stakeholders at different steps in the process (policymakers, industry, civil society, MRV service providers, etc.), whose perspectives may differ, and our study aims to gain an insight into what constitutes an effective MRV by garnering the different stakeholders’ perspectives. The study reveals that: (1) the limits of voluntary MRV initiatives justify regulatory intervention, (2) the major barrier to the implementation of methane-specific MRV is not economic, but relates to an incomplete understanding of methane sources and available measurement technologies, (3) verification is likely to be the most challenging MRV element to implement, partly due to the limited number of accredited verifiers and overlapping tasks (4) MRV needs to be accompanied by methane mitigation policies incentivising continuous improvement of companies’ performance. The study recommends enhancing the proposed regulation by: introducing equal requirements for operated and non-operated assets; an obligation to report measurement uncertainties; a closer integration of MRV and LDAR; clear verification rules; and an introduction of minimum and optimum methane control standards.