According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), methane is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas, exposure to which causes one million premature deaths every year.
Methane is usually emitted during coal, natural gas, and oil production and transport. Its emissions also result from livestock and other agricultural practices, land use and the decay of organic waste in municipal solid waste landfills. According to statistics, 50-65% of methane emissions come from human activities globally.
In February, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that methane is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution. Though it dissipates faster than carbon dioxide, it is a much more potent greenhouse gas. Hence, quick and sustained emission reductions are crucial to limiting near-term warming and improving air quality.
Qatar is a global leader in tackling methane emissions as it has achieved impressive progress in reducing methane intensity in the energy sector over the past decade. Earlier this year, Qatar endorsed the Global Methane Pledge.
Yesterday, QatarEnergy announced it had joined the Aiming for Zero Methane Emissions Initiative -- an industry-led initiative that aims to reach near-zero methane emissions from operated oil and gas assets by 2030. According to the announcement, QatarEnergy is the first company to join the initiative outside its 12 existing signatories: Aramco, BP, Chevron, CNPC, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Petrobras, Repsol, Shell and TotalEnergies.
Minister of State for Energy Affairs, and President and CEO of QatarEnergy H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, said that by being the first company to join the Aiming for Zero Methane Emissions Initiative outside its 12 existing signatories, QatarEnergy reaffirms Qatar’s priorities and commitments with regards to the climate change agenda, and its unwavering support to the global effort to reducing emissions, including methane. He also noted that the pledge also aligns with QatarEnergy’s recently announced Sustainability Strategy and follows landmark steps that include signing the guiding principles on reducing methane emissions across the natural gas value chain and endorsing the Global Methane Pledge.
In March this year, QatarEnergy outlined an updated Sustainability Strategy to scale up its carbon capture and storage and solar power generation capabilities as part of its drive to reduce the carbon footprint at its facilities by 2035 significantly. The plan aims to capture over 11 million tonnes per annum of CO2 in Qatar by 2035.
