CCAC Fossil Fuels Hub Insight Meeting

On 16 March, the CCAC welcomed Tomás de Oliveira Bredariol, Environmental Engineer at the International Energy Agency, Alfredo Miranda-González, Deputy Director for International Methane for Clean Air Task Force, and Marisol Estrella, Programme Manager at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to present and discuss fossil fuels tools for developing countries and the fossil fuel regulatory environment more broadly. A brief summary of some of the key points raised in the presentations and in the Q&A session, alongside biographies of the presenters are as follows: 

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTATIONS

Tomás de Oliveira Bredariol, International Energy Agency

• Tomás presented findings from the IEA’s recently released Global Methane Tracker. The Global Methane Tracker found that the high oil and gas prices in 2022 meant most abatement measures could have been deployed at no net cost, yet instead energy-related methane emissions rose to nearly 135 Mt in 2022. There remains a lot of opportunity to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sector, as less than 3% of the net income received by the oil and gas industry in 2022 would be enough to cut emissions by 75% by 2030. 
• Tomás emphasised the potential additional gas supply from stopping all non-emergency flaring. For example, over 200 billion cubic meters of natural gas – more than the European Union’s annual gas imports from Russia prior to the invasion of Ukraine – could be brought to market by stopping flaring methane emissions. 
• The IEA has developed a number of resources for regulators and policymakers looking to cut methane emissions. These resources highlight the necessary steps and the benefits of emissions reduction. Examples of resources, include their new 10-step roadmap on coal mine methane, and reference information for countries looking to introduce or enhance oil and gas methane policies. 

Alfredo Miranda-González, Clean Air Task Force

• A key barrier to the development and implementation of methane mitigation policies is that government officials lack data regarding the origin and magnitude of emissions in the oil and gas sector. Alfredo presented the CATF’s CoMAT tool which was designed to provide policymakers with their unique oil and gas industry profile and associated methane emissions, to then guide policymakers in creating tailored mitigation plans. 
• CoMAT’s methodology is based on US greenhouse gas emissions inventories with modifications based on user input. This allows for customization to provide emissions estimates driven by estimates of equipment, and amount of gas produced among other factors. 
• CATF is about to launch a new CoMAT app by June that will provide easy to use tools to enable users to gain insights, analyze data, build consensus and develop mitigation plans and policy solutions to support CATF’s international methane advocacy. 

Marisol Estrella, United Nations Environment Programme

• Marisol presented UNEP’s contribution to Norway’s Oil for Development Programme, which has sought to strengthen Governments’ institutional capacity to improve environmental governance and management in the upstream oil and gas sector, alongside reducing environmental risks in all forms, and increasing accessibility and dissemination of knowledge on environmental management in the oil and gas sector 
• As part of this process the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) has collected improved data on transparency, science, and implementation. 
• Technical assistance was provided to Iraq for methane emissions reductions, which culminated in Iraq revising their NDC to include specific action on methane from the energy sector. UNEP also supported trainings and capacity building of the National Methane Task Force – through the Global Methane Alliance and piloted capacity building for methane emissions measurement. 

Q and A Session 

• The Q and A provided a discussion on the barriers to implementing methane reductions in the fossil fuels sector. Tomás raised three key barriers: information gaps, institutional arrangements that mean there will be no profits from emissions reductions and finally that it is often more profitable to invest in new oil and gas wells.  
• Marisol reemphasized the significance of limited awareness in government ministries and the importance of getting political momentum and institutional buy in by working across key ministries. Alongside this she raised the question of incentives, in particular for transitioning away from flaring into capturing methane. Although there may be a global market, there can be a multitude of barriers at the local level which makes it extremely difficult to bring this gas to market. 
• The importance of accurate and transparent reporting was also raised in an Eastern European context, with participants suggesting there is both a need an opportunity to address this at a European regulatory level to produce accurate emissions inventories. 
• Alfredo also reinforced the significance of information gaps, in particular at a governmental level there is also a lack of capacity, and often no one is dedicated to working on methane even within ministries of energy. To resolve this, it is important to ensure that a critical mass of people are trained to provide continuity and expertise across political changes.  

About the Presenters

About Tomás 

Tomás de Oliveira Bredariol is an Environmental Engineer with a Master in Public Policies. He led the analysis on methane emissions in the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2022 and the Global Methane Tracker 2023. Prior to his arrival at the IEA, he worked as a Policy Officer in the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, Environmental Permitting Directory, where he was responsible for environmental impact assessments, emergency response and follow-up activities related to the permitting of offshore oil and gas undertakings.

About Alfredo

Alfredo Miranda-González joined CATF in 2020 and is Deputy Director for International Affairs in the Methane Pollution Prevention Team, providing leadership and coordination for CATF projects in Latin America and Africa. In this role he works with governments to promote the adoption of policies to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry and the waste sectors. Prior to joining CATF, Alfredo served in the Mexican government at the Ministry of Energy and at the oil and gas environmental regulator (ASEA) from 2014 until 2020. He earned an undergraduate degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2010 from Cardiff University (UK). In 2014 he gained an MSc in Management and Engineering of Environment and Energy from KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) and École des Mines de Nantes (France).

About Marisol

Marisol Estrella is a Programme Manager for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Resilience to Disasters and Conflicts, Global Support Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), based in Geneva, Switzerland. She has 18 years experience working in the field of disaster risk reduction, in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Middle East, related to field project implementation, trainings, technical publications, policy advocacy and partnership building. Her fields of expertise include promoting Nature-based Solutions and Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction, as well as pollution risk reduction linked to industrial hazards. She has a Masters with Distinction on Environment and Development Policy from the University of Sussex (UK), and a Bachelor Honours degree from the University of McGill (Canada)