Following the presentation of the European Commission’s methane strategy a year ago, the European Parliament has adopted by a large majority an own-initiative report calling for more comprehensive measures to reduce methane.
Methane is the second most common climate gas after carbon dioxide and is responsible for 24% of global warming. 59% of methane emissions are man-made, of which agriculture accounts for more than half in the EU (53%), followed by about a quarter (26%) in waste management and about a fifth (19%) in the energy sector.
We MEPs demand comprehensive improvements from the Commission in the reduction of climate-damaging methane gas. The existing methane strategy of the European Commission is not sufficient, because it mainly provides for the recording and collection of data in the energy sector. Data alone does not reduce emissions. We need to hold all sectors accountable and extend the ban on dumping and flaring in the energy sector to imports. A broad majority in Parliament has spoken out in favour of this today. Global warming can be reduced by a whopping 0.3 degrees Celsius if we manage to cut methane emissions by 45 percent by 2030. Both the UN Environment Program and the International Energy Agency show in their analyses that this is possible with cost-effective measures. I expect the Commission to take up Parliament’s demands in the upcoming legislation.
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