Led by the NGOs Food and Water Action Europe, Environmental Investigation Agency and CAN Europe, some 60 civil society organisations sent a joint letter to the European Commission on Friday 30 April, calling on the institution to put in place a mandatory framework for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of methane leaks in the energy sector as well as for their detection and repair.
According to the signatory organisations, this framework should also include a ban on systematic venting (the controlled release of unburnt gases directly into the atmosphere) and flaring (the controlled combustion of gases produced or released in connection with the extraction and transport of fossil fuels).
They also added that: “The framework (...) should apply across the supply chain to cover all oil, gas and coal consumed in the EU”.
Recalling that methane is the second largest greenhouse gas after CO2, the signatories also call for a ban on the marketing of shale gas in the EU.
While the Commission plans to present a legislative proposal on methane leakage in the energy sector at the end of this year, the organisations also call for all methane mitigation measures to be designed by independent experts.
See the letter: https://bit.ly/2QHYuqV (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)