Tasks and Resources Needed at the National Level

Implementing the EU Methane Regulation Working Paper N° 1

Publication: Report
Citation: Piria, Raffaele, Ramiro de la Vega, Leon Martini and Eike Karola Velten 2024: Implementing the EU Methane Regulation, Working paper N° 1. Tasks and resources needed at the national level. Ecologic Institute, Berlin. Available at: https://www.ecologic.eu/19718

The EU Methane Regulation (EU-MER) is crucial for reducing methane emissions from the energy sector, thereby enhancing our chances at achieving the climate targets. This paper describes the tasks of the Member States' responsible ministries and competent authorities, analyses the resources they will need to accomplish them, and provides recommendations for effective planning.

The impact of the EU-MER will depend on the quality of its implementation. Time is of the essence: Early and strategic planning can improve the quality of implementation while simultaneously decreasing its costs. This publication aims to assist public officers involved in implementing the recently adopted EU-MER at the national level, as well as civil society organisations engaged in the process.

There are two other papers in this series focusing on EU-MER implementation at the national level:

Governance at the National Level: Responsible ministries and competent authorities

Implementing the EU Methane Regulation Working Paper N° 2

Year 2024

Publication:Report

This publication discusses the penalty regime to be established by the EU Member States to sanction infringements against the recently adopted EU Methane Regulation (EU-MER). In these regimes, (administrative) fines will play a major role. The EU-MER stipulates that the level of fines must be proportionate to the environmental damage and impact on human health associated with the infringement as the core criterion. The working paper proposes applying a core reference value of 6.000 EUR/tCH4 to be adjusted according to the aggravating or mitigating factors foreseen by the regulation.

Penalties and Selected Legal Issues

Implementing the EU Methane Regulation Working Paper N° 3

Year 2024

News

Three working papers aim to support the responsible ministries and competent authorities of EU Member States in implementing the EU Methane Emission Regulation (EU-MER), expected to enter into force in July 2024.

Implementing the EU Methane Regulation

Series of working papers on the implementation of the EU-at the national level MER published

19 June 2024

Project

This project identifies and develops EU policy opportunities to mitigate methane (CH4) and hydrogen (H2) emissions from the energy sector.

EU Policies to Reduce CH4 and H2 Emissions from the Energy Sector

Aug 2023 - Sep 2024

Language: English
Authorship: Raffaele Piria

Ramiro de la Vega

Leon Martini

Eike Karola Velten
Credits: The authors thank the following people for their support, intellectual contribution and inspiration: Julian Schwartzkopff and Tabea Pottiez (Deutsche Umwelthilfe), Joana Simão Costa and Malcolm McDowell (European Commission), Andrea Trenta, Diego Gavagnin and Tommaso Franci (Amici della terra), Michaela Holl (Agora Energiewende), Edward Calthrope (European Investment Bank), Christian Böttcher (German Federal Environment Agency), Corina Andreea Murafa (Faculty of Business Administration, Bucharest University of Economic Studies), Aart Tacoma (Element nl), Maarten de Vries (CE Delft).
We also thank our colleagues Aaron Best, Agnés Reinsberg, Aleksandra Lempp, Anna Mansilla Urban, Arne Riedel, Benjamin Görlach, Ewa Iwaszuk, Flora Dicke, Jennifer Rahn, Lina-Marie Dück, Meike Lorenz, Paula Schöberlein, Ralf Bodle, Stephan Sina, and Susanne Langsdorf for their contributions and help.
Funding: Stichting Environmental Defense Fund Europe (EDF Europe), Netherlands
Published by: Ecologic Institute, Germany
Year: 2024
Dimension: 39 pp.
Project: EU Policies to Reduce CH4 and H2 Emissions from the Energy Sector
Project ID: 50148

50155
Table of contents: Click to show full table of contents

Executive Summary
About this Series of Papers
Overview on tasks and roles
Types of resources needed
2.1 Skilled staff
2.2 Specialised equipment
Implementing the EU-MER task by task: necessary steps and resources
3.1 Inventories and mitigation in closed and abandoned assets
3.2 Inspections
3.3 Analyse incoming reports and take consequential decisions
3.4 Other tasks at the national level
3.5 Timeline of the tasks assigned to the European Commission
Conclusions
4.1 Time is of the essence: for a thorough, timely planning of the EU-MER implementation at the national level
4.2 Keeping implementation costs at bay without diminishing its quality
4.3 The value of early and substantial upfront investments for an ambitious EU-MER implementation
Annexes
Annex 1: List of the incoming reports to be analysed and evaluated by the CA
Annex 2: List of the decisions to be taken by the CA
Annex 3: List of the outgoing reports, notifications, and publications to be produced by the CA
Keywords: Climate

Communication

Energy

EU

methane, methane emissions, CH4 emissions, hydrogen, greenhouse gas, EU policies, emissions, venting and flaring, leak detection and repair, climate mitigation, EU Methane Emission Regulation, EU Methane Regulation, LDAR, MRV

Europe

analysis, qualitative and quantitative criteria

Further Links

NewsImplementing the EU Methane Regulation

PublicationReportTasks and Resources Needed at the National Level

Ecologic Institute

Piria, Raffaele, Ramiro de la Vega, Leon Martini and Eike Karola Velten 2024: Implementing the EU Methane Regulation, Working paper N° 1. Tasks and resources needed at the national level. Ecologic Institute, Berlin. Available at: https://www.ecologic.eu/19718

PublicationReportPenalties and Selected Legal Issues

Piria, Raffaele, Stephan Sina and Lina-Marie Dück 2024: Implementing the EU Methane Regulation, Working paper N° 3. Penalties and selected legal issues. Ecologic Institute, Berlin. Available at: https://www.ecologic.eu/19720

Download Paper: Tasks and Resources Needed at the National Level - Implementing the EU Methane Regulation Working Paper N° 1 (updated in July 2024)