Background

Methane is a powerful but short-lived greenhouse gas. Its concentration in the atmosphere is increasing globally and it is responsible for a third of the climate warming since the start of the industrial revolution.[1] A significant reduction in methane emissions is a component of all mitigation pathways set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for limiting the increase in global average temperatures to well below 2ºC and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.[2]

At COP26 in 2021, the UK signed the Global Methane Pledge, the stated aim of which is “to keep a 1.5°C future within reach”.[3] As one of 155 countries signatory to the pledge, the UK has agreed to take voluntary actions to reduce global methane emissions by 30 percent compared to 2020 levels by 2030. Achieving this target would limit warming while also delivering benefits to human and ecosystem health.[4]

Methane emissions constituted 14% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.[5] Since 1990, the UK has seen a 62.5% reduction in methane emissions, although the rate of reduction has slowed in recent years.[6]  The Climate Change Committee’s 2023 Progress report to Parliament set out the UK’s methane emissions by sector. The agriculture sector represents the largest contribution to methane emissions in the UK (49.2% of total UK methane emissions in 2022), followed by the waste (29.9%) and fuel supply sectors (8.3%).[7]

QUESTIONS

Overview

• What is the impact of methane on climate change and warming, and how does it differ from other greenhouse gases?
• What are the main benefits of delivering methane reduction targets?
• What trade-offs are there, if any, in tackling methane vs. CO or other greenhouse gases?

International commitments

1)   What role could methane emissions reduction play in meeting the UK’s domestic and international climate change targets?

2)   What is your assessment of the Global Methane Pledge: is the UK on track to meet it? If not, how could this be accelerated?

3)   What are the implications of the separate Global Methane Pledge for overall UK efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? 

4)   Given UK progress in methane reduction in recent years (with notable reductions before 2020) what are the cost/ benefit implications of meeting the pledge?

5)   How significant are UK methane emissions when compared to global emissions? What impact could UK efforts on reducing methane emissions have on total emissions?

6)   What is the UK doing to lead and facilitate international action on methane reduction? Could this be enhanced?

7)   What lessons could the UK learn from abroad?

Data, measurement and monitoring

8)   What is the status of methane accounting, monitoring and reporting in the UK at present and how does it compare internationally? Is UK accounting and reporting considered to be accurate and robust? What improvements, if any, are possible and what benefits would these deliver?

9)   What progress is being made on methane monitoring and data collection in the UK using technologies such as satellite data and drones?

10) Are there significant methane leakages in the UK, and if so where do they usually occur?

11) What are the advantages and disadvantages of available metrics used to report and compare methane emissions including GWP100 and GWP*?

UK Methane emissions and sectors

12) What progress has the UK made on reducing methane emissions and where is there room for improvement?

13) Which sectors are most promising for achieving further methane emissions reductions? And which are likely to be at least relative cost?

14) Are there sources that could be mitigated quickly and easily in the short term, and which would take longer or be more complex?

15) To what extent is there existing regulation in each emitting sector to mitigate methane emissions, and how well is this working?

Agriculture

16) Are there emerging technologies, such as methane suppressant feed products or approaches to slurry management, that could aid with methane emissions reduction in agriculture? What impact could they deliver?

17) How effective are existing policies and incentives, such as Slurry Infrastructure Grants, in driving methane reduction?

18) What other policy tools, frameworks or incentives could be employed in agriculture to drive methane reduction?

19) How can efforts to mitigate methane emissions in agriculture be integrated into broader approaches to facilitate and incentivise climate and nature-friendly farming practices?

20) How can efforts to reduce methane reduction be balanced against other important considerations in the agricultural sector, including food security?

Waste and waste management

21) What further progress could be made in the waste and waste management sector on reducing methane emissions? Are there interventions and/or technologies that could bring emissions down?

22) Given the regulations already in place for methane reduction in the waste sector, why are emissions from the waste sector static over recent years? Are existing regulations monitored and enforced?

23) Is the UK on track to meet the Government’s deadline of all local authorities collecting food waste separately from landfill by March 2026?

24) To what extent will improved methane captured at landfill sites, remain necessary to reduce methane emissions after this date?

Fossil fuels

25) Are there further methane reductions that could be made in the UK fossil fuels sector (e.g., oil, gas or other fossil fuels), or at a faster pace?

26) How can we ensure that reducing methane emissions in the oil and gas sector are not at the expense of reducing CO₂ emissions?

27) What impact would bringing forward the ban on flaring and venting have on both emissions and the industry?

[1] Global Monitoring Laboratory - Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases (noaa.gov); Facts about Methane | UNEP - UN Environment Programme

[2] Global Warming of 1.5 ºC — (ipcc.ch)

[3] Homepage | Global Methane Pledge

[4] Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions | UNEP - UN Environment Programme

[5] 2020 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Final Figures (publishing.service.gov.uk)

[6] United Kingdom methane memorandum - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[7] Climate Change Committee – Progress in reducing emissions, 2023 Report to Parliament. Percentages calculated from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Final UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics 1990-2022 final-greenhouse-gas-emissions-tables-2022.xlsx (live.com)

ANNEX:

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Diversity comes in many forms and hearing a range of different perspectives means that Committees are better informed and can more effectively scrutinise public policy and legislation. Committees can undertake their role most effectively when they hear from a wide range of individuals, sectors or groups in society affected by a particular policy or piece of legislation. We encourage anyone with experience or expertise of an issue under investigation by a Select Committee to share their views with the Committee, with the full knowledge that their views have value and are welcome.

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