Page 12 - AsiaElec Week 44 2022

AsiaElec METHANE AsiaElec

Australia backs global

methane pledge

AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA has joined a global pledge to curb MERIL. These funds will be used to develop
methane emissions by 30% by the end of the technologies to provide low-emission feed sup-
decade from their level in 2020, with the effort plements to grazing animals, and assess their
largely set to fall on the country’s agriculture and technical and commercial viability, Bowen said.
natural gas sectors. “As a result of signing the pledge, the Austral-
The ruling Labour government had indicated ian government will not legislate or introduce
its intention in June to join the UN-backed com- taxes or levies to reduce livestock emissions,” the
mitment, which more than 120 countries have minister noted.
signed up to. Methane is a far more potent green- Australia’s previous Conservative govern-
house gas (GHG) than CO2, even though it stays ment resisted joining the methane pledge until
in the atmosphere for less time. This means that it lost power in May this year.
efforts to cut methane emissions can yield faster Australia’s main oil and gas industry group,
results in preventing global warming. the Australian Petroleum Production & Explo-
The agricultural sector is a greater source ration Association (APPEA), said it supported
of man-made emissions than the hydrocarbon the government’s decision, describing it as “an
industry, but it is widely considered that the important step in the emissions reduction path-
greatest short-term reductions can be made in way to net zero.” APPEA noted it had worked
the latter. with the government during the consulta-
“By joining the pledge, Australia will join the tion process, stressing that the industry’s own
rest of the world’s major agricultural commodity commitments were either in line with or went
exporters including the US, Brazil and Indonesia beyond the methane pledge.
in identifying opportunities to reduce emissions “As an industry committed to net-zero green-
in this hard-to-abate sector,” Australian Minister house gas emissions economy-wide by 2050,
of Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said we have worked with the government towards
in a statement. today’s announcement, paving the way towards
Australia’s government will work with indus- a cleaner energy future,” APPEA CEO Saman-
try to decarbonise the economy and draw up tha McCulloch said. “With Australia’s focus on
and implement initiatives across the energy emissions reduction, signing the pledge is a pos-
and waste sector, Bowen said, noting this would itive and important step for our country and the
include capturing methane that can be used to world. Reducing methane emissions has been
generate power. This would include capturing a priority of our industry for decades as mem-
biogas that emitted at waste sites, and convert- bers monitor, report and reduce their fugitive
ing it into biomethane for power plants to use. emissions profile, participating in several global
Investments by the government in reducing initiatives.”
emissions will include some AUD3bn ($1.9bn) Several APPEA members have already com-
to be spent from the AUD15bn National Recon- mitted directly to the pledge, or have commit-
struction Fund on supporting the development ments that are either consistent or go beyond it,
of low-emissions technologies and component the association noted. In addition, some have
manufacturing and agricultural methane reduc- also signed up to other global methane initiatives
tion, the minister added. The government will such as the Methane Guiding Principles and the
release a further AUD5mn in funding for the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative.™
second stage of a programme to reduce meth-
ane emissions in the livestock sector, known as

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