UNECE signs MoU with the International Gas Union (IGU)

Press release issued by the International Gas Union (IGU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

Paris, 30 April 2015 – Gas could play a key role in the transition towards a low carbon economy. In order to accelerate the move towards this transition, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the International Gas Union (IGU) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize their cooperation.

UNECE Executive Secretary Christian Friis Bach emphasized: “this collaboration will facilitate the development of the best practices that will help reduce leaks and foster a more efficient use of gas globally. This will help our member States to strengthen sustainable economic and social development and meet their near and medium term climate change mitigation commitments”.

IGU President Jerôme Ferrier welcomed this cooperation agreement as “an excellent tool to increase the awareness of the benefits that an enhanced role of gas in the global energy mix can have to providing access to affordable and clean energy”.

The two organisations will collaborate through UNECE’s Committee on Sustainable Energy and its subsidiary body, the Group of Experts on Gas. They will promote the exchange of know-how and best practice amongst relevant experts to accelerate the deployment of affordable energy. This cooperation will include IGU’s support to the task forces under the Group of Experts on Gas in relation to developing best practice guidance in reducing gas leaks along the value chain, the role of gas to increase the uptake of renewable energy, best practice guidance for liquefied natural gas (LNG), and removing barriers for the use of gas in the transportation sector.

The cooperation will facilitate an export discussion on a possible roadmap for the UNECE region for achieving the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) goal of providing universal access to modern energy services and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030, as well as highlighting obstacles, gaps and opportunities at national, sub regional and regional level.

The next first step of this cooperation will materialize at the World Gas Conference 2015 in Paris 1-5 June 2015.

For further information on the work of the Group of Experts on Gas, please consult the UNECE website: http://www.unece.org/energy/se/docs/natural_gas.html

For further information on IGU, visit http://igu.org/about-igu

For the official press release please click here.