The 32nd European Gas Regulatory Forum (also known as the Madrid Forum), which gathered key stakeholders across the European gas sector to discuss opportunities and challenges and to share information on European gas market regulations, took place during the first week of June. Discussions centered on the prospects for the next EU gas package (2020), including cutting methane emissions.
As requested by the Directorate General for Energy of the European Commission last year, Marcogaz and Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) led the development of a report presenting the current state of industry activity on methane emissions in the European Union (EU), and beyond. The report also proposes a set of recommendations and potential actions that the industry can undertake to further reduce its methane emissions.
The International Gas Union (IGU) was pleased to be among an impressive list of industry contributors to the report. The IGU’s Global Group of Methane Experts, established in late 2016, was instrumental in sharing the most critical information on the issue from around the world.
We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate some of the key report findings and recommendations and to highlight the importance of continuing to reduce methane emissions from natural gas value chains.