Following up on our work for the Biomethane Industrial Partnership, we prepared starting points for improved emission accounting for the European Biogas Association.
The report for the BIP identified that the emissions of imported or exported biomethane via pipelines is not being accurately tracked between EU Member States for emission inventories prepared for the UNFCCC. This brief report explores starting points for potential solutions to the issues identified in the report.
Three issues are identified along with three potential solutions:
1. Issue: Physical flows of biomethane are not connected to the emissions. As biomethane production grows, this becomes increasingly problematic.
Potential solution: Include the biomethane grid share in import and export of methane. This better estimates the flows of biomethane but still cannot reflect the physical reality. Discrepancies between emission reporting may also be an issue for EU Member States.
2. Issue: EU Member States might be less likely to support biomethane import and export as they cannot apply the emissions savings nationally.
Potential solution: Adopt a mass balancing step before emission inventories. This would require a tool to track biomethane trade for EU Member States, and alignment with the Governance Regulation 2018 / 1999. The UDB could be used to avoid double counting.
3. Issue: Uncertainty can lead to risks of double counting of emissions and lead to EU Member States being less supportive of cross-border trade.
Potential solution: Bring EU Member States together, with the goals of creating a basis of understanding of the issues at hand, formulating common goals on emission inventory reporting for biomethane, and starting the process of alignment.
As a result, discussions are now ongoing among EU Member States and the European Commission on how to improve emission accounting for imported and exported biomethane.
