China Announces Progress in Methane Monitoring and Evaluation In Preparation for the Release of Its National Action Plan on Methane

17 January 2023 — During its January 2023 press conference, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) highlighted progress on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas monitoring and evaluation pilot projects aimed at answering critical questions on “what to measure,” “where to measure,” and “how to measure.” This includes pilot projects exploring preliminary technical methodologies for methane leakage detection. In particular, MEE noted that the oil and gas industry pilots have established a methane leakage detection mechanism by implementing an integrated "satellite + unmanned aerial vehicle + cruise" monitoring system for tracking methane leakage in production processes. For the coal mining industry pilots, MEE observed that a collaborative methane emissions monitoring technology has been developed using existing coal mine safety monitoring systems. Last but not least, MEE commented that it has established a preliminary understanding of the concentrations and the spatial and temporal distributions of global methane emissions through analysis of satellite remote sensing data.

Generally speaking, the methane-emissions monitoring pilots are contributing to the development of China’s methane-emission monitoring methodologies for key industry sectors and improving access to up-to-date methane data. Such data and monitoring methodologies are essential for the Chinese government to establish and evaluate quantitative methane mitigation targets. They are also necessary to ensure the effective implementation of methane mitigation policies and actions, including those contemplated in the U.S.-China Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s (10 November 2022). These included China’s intention “to develop a comprehensive and ambitious National Action Plan on methane, aiming to achieve a significant effect on methane emissions control and reductions in the 2020s.” At the Global Methane Pledge Ministerial convened on 17 November 2022 at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Xie Zhenhua, China’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, described key focus areas for China’s methane mitigation and the fact that the National Action Plan on methane was undergoing approvals within the Chinese government.

Continue reading here.