Methane emissions

Secretariat’s actions
- Supporting
  The Secretariat supports the gas industry in the Contracting Parties by raising awareness about the impact of methane emissions and promoting knowledge sharing on frameworks, initiatives, tools, and technologies for monitoring, reporting, and mitigation.
  
  In 2021, the Secretariat launched the Methane Mondays webinar series, which continues to run successfully on a monthly basis. The audience extends beyond the nine Contracting Parties of the Energy Community, with over 2,000 participants from 250 companies across 40 countries having attended to date. This strong and sustained interest highlights the need to maintain and expand such outreach.
  
  Looking ahead, the Secretariat will:
  
  Promote continued dialogue and coordination among stakeholders to support the implementation of best practices and awareness-raising.
  
  Facilitate the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 within the Energy Community, aligning regional efforts with EU legislative developments.
- Monitoring
  Gas system operators have voluntarily begun assessing their methane emissions using the Marcogaz/OGMP 2.0 reporting template. The Secretariat has compiled these assessments into an aggregated report, which will be updated regularly to track progress and guide policy.
  
  As part of its continued efforts, the Secretariat aims to:
  
  Expand the voluntary assessment process to include gas producers, as well as the oil and coal industries.
  
  Strengthen data collection and monitoring practices in preparation for compliance when Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 is adopted by the Energy Community.
Timeline and tasks
Timeline and tasks
Dec 2022

General transposition of Governance Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.

Jan 2023

Deadline to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and removals, including methane, with accuracy and transparency (Article 37).

Jan 2023

Deadline for operating and improving national and Energy Community systems for reporting policies, measures, and projections of greenhouse gas emissions and removals, which include methane (Article 39).

Jun 2024

Deadline for submitting the first NECPs to the Secretariat, including binding GHG targets, covering methane, Paris Agreement commitments, and relevant sectoral and adaptation objectives (Articles 3 and 4).

Mar 2025 and every two years

Deadline for reporting NECP implementation to the Secretariat with GHG and methane reduction targets under the “Decarbonisation” dimension (Article 17).

Sep 2025 and every year

The Secretariat shall make public the Contracting Parties’ estimated GHG inventories, including methane (Article 26).

Oct 2025 and two every years

The Secretariat shall assess Contracting Parties’ progress toward their objectives, based on the integrated national energy and climate progress reports (Article 29).

2027 and 2032

The Secretariat shall comprehensively review national inventory data to monitor Contracting Parties’ GHG reduction or limitation targets (Article 38).
Legal basis and purpose

Legal basis and purpose

Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 of the European Parliament and of the Council (13 June 2024) on the reduction of methane emissions in the energy sector establishes the EU’s first comprehensive legal framework to monitor, report, and mitigate methane emissions from oil, gas, and coal activities. While this Regulation has not yet been incorporated into the Energy Community acquis, its planned adoption is outlined in the Energy Community Decarbonisation Roadmap.

Under Article 4(b) of Governance Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, Contracting Parties are required to include strategies for methane mitigation in their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).

Furthermore, Article 16 of the Regulation provides for the development of a strategic plan on methane at the Energy Community level. This plan should reflect the high global warming potential and relatively short atmospheric lifetime of methane, aim to reduce its short- and medium-term impact on Contracting Parties’ greenhouse gas emissions, and, where appropriate, take into account circular economy objectives.