Investors Need to Focus on Methane Emissions

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is 84x more harmful than CO2 over a 20-year period. The global oil and gas industry has a significant methane footprint, but the majority of methane emissions are avoidable with existing technology and the right company practices.

By incentivising methane abatement in oil and gas, we could reduce emissions by 5.7Gt CO2e per year – the equivalent to planting 100 billion tree seedlings. Methane’s significant near-term climate impact, and the clear steps needed to reduce emissions in the sector, means methane abatement in oil and gas is a relatively ‘quick win’ in the fight against climate change.

However, methane is often overlooked in debates about climate change in favour of CO2 and fossil fuel combustion. This is particularly true in the investment community where decarbonisation is now a major focus in investment portfolios.

If we are to drive down methane emissions, the investment community should look to leverage its influence to encourage producers to address methane emissions. ESG is an increasingly important component of investment decisions, but we need to do more to make methane prominent in these considerations.

While reducing CO2 emissions is often said to be the most important part of limiting global temperature rises, we, and many others, including buyers such as Engie and Pavilion and regulators like the European Union, are increasingly recognising how important methane abatement is. That is why MiQ was established – to bring transparency to methane emissions and incentivise a rapid reduction.

On May 5th, we are hosted a webinar with leading experts to discuss how the investor community has an important role to play in incentivising the rapid reduction of methane emissions as part of the clean energy transition. If you’d like to understand more about this important topic, visit our news and views page.

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