Roadmap for the development of EU methane import standard

The report outlines a two-tiered approach to an EU methane import standard: an initial prescriptive standard focusing on practices and technologies, followed by a more ambitious emission intensity standard. It argues that there are no insuperable legal obstacles to such a standard under WTO or UNFCCC rules, provided the EU applies equivalent burdens to domestic production. Key recommendations include using an equivalence principle for exporting countries and companies, implementing financial penalties for non-compliance, and establishing an EU methane fund to support mitigation in developing countries. The document also highlights the need for robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) and warns of 'methane leakage' where high-emitting gas is redirected to less regulated markets.

• Legal analysis indicates that establishing a methane import standard is feasible and does not face insurmountable legal barriers under EU law, World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, or the UNFCCC/Paris Agreement.
• Stakeholders recommend a phased implementation starting with a 'prescriptive standard' that mandates specific practices and technologies, followed by an 'intensity standard' based on emissions per unit of gas.
• The prescriptive standard should focus on three core areas: monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV); Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR); and limits on venting and flaring.
• To ensure WTO compliance and non-discrimination, the EU must ensure that import standards are no more onerous than those applied to fossil fuels produced within the EU.
• For the intensity standard, stakeholders suggest a financial penalty system, specifically a fixed fee per ton of methane that exceeds the maximum allowable target.
• Fees collected from non-compliant imports could be used to create an EU methane fund to finance mitigation projects and capacity building, particularly in developing countries.
• In cases where exporters do not provide data, the EU should apply conservative default emission factors (EFs) based on scientific benchmarking, potentially at the 90th or 95th percentile to incentivize reporting.
• There is a risk of 'methane leakage,' where the EU imports 'clean' gas while high-emitting gas is simply redirected to other global markets or used domestically by the producer, resulting in no net global emission reduction.
• The report notes a significant disparity in emission factors; for example, 2019 estimates for pipeline gas and LNG entering the EU were 8.7 ktCH4/bcm and 9.1 ktCH4/bcm respectively, while Norway's were as low as 0.04 ktCH4/bcm and 0.4 ktCH4/bcm.

APA

Venugopal, M., Saunier, S., Malbranque, M., & Simon, M. (2023). Roadmap for the development of EU methane import standard. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/05152105/roadmap-methane-import-standard.pdf

Chicago

Venugopal, Malavika, Stephanie Saunier, Maxime Malbranque, and Manon Simon. Roadmap for the development of EU methane import standard. Clean Air Task Force, 2023. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/05152105/roadmap-methane-import-standard.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Venugopal |first1=Malavika |last2=Saunier |first2=Stephanie |last3=Malbranque |first3=Maxime |last4=Simon |first4=Manon |title=Roadmap for the development of EU methane import standard |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=2023 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/05152105/roadmap-methane-import-standard.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{venugopal2023roadmap, author = {Venugopal, Malavika and Saunier, Stephanie and Malbranque, Maxime and Simon, Manon}, title = {{Roadmap for the development of EU methane import standard}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2023}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/05152105/roadmap-methane-import-standard.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }