On June 29, 2024, the Methane Forum, co-hosted by the Climate Investment and Finance Association (CIFA) of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, China Energy Conservation Consulting Co., Ltd., and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), was successfully held in Beijing. Opening remarks were made by distinguished guests including Wang Jinnan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Standing Committee Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Deputy Director of the Committee of Population, Resources, and Environment, and President of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences; Zhu Qingfeng, Chief Accountant of China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the CIFA; Yuan Liang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Anhui University of Science and Technology; Tu Ruihe, Representative of the United Nations Environment Programme in China; and Fred Krupp, President of the EDF. The event was chaired by Liao Yuan, Chairman of the China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group's Ecological Product Development Research Center and Deputy Secretary-General of the CIFA.

An Important Event for Methane Sector and Academic Exchange

As a significant event and academic exchange platform in the methane field, the forum invited over thirty experts from home and abroad. They discussed the process of methane emission reduction and the establishment of the Methane Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system from multiple perspectives, including policy mechanisms, technological innovation, industry practices, and future outlooks, aiming to promote continuous action on methane emission reduction. Nearly 300 guests from research institutes, leading enterprises, financial institutions, universities, social organizations, and the media attended the event.

Keynote Presentations

The keynote presentation session was hosted by Liu Qiang, Deputy Chief Representative of the Children's Investment Fund Foundation in China. This session featured five experts: Xu Huaqing, Chief Scientist at the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation; Tim Gould, Chief Energy Economist at the International Energy Agency (IEA); Mark Brownstein, Senior Vice President for Energy Transition at the EDF; Manfredi Caltagirone, Head of the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO); and Marcelo Mena, CEO of the Global Methane Hub. They shared insights on topics such as China's methane management system construction, global methane tracking and energy methane reduction potential, global methane emissions monitoring, the IMEO, and global methane investment and financing.

Publication of Results

In the results release session, Gao Ji, Director of Energy and Nature Projects at EDF, presented the Methane Forum's annual flagship report "2023-2024 Global Progress Report on Methane Emission Reduction" and released the "100 Questions on Methane" series of books, covering coal, oil and gas, agriculture, and waste treatment, with core viewpoints shared.

Second Keynote Session: International Policy Progress on Methane MRV

This session, themed "International Policy Progress on Methane MRV," was chaired by Li Yalan, Chair of the International Gas Union. Experts included Zhou Yuan from the Statistical and Accounting Research Department of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, Alexis Padoy, Counselor for Transport, Maritime Affairs, and Energy from the EU Delegation to China, Justin Pryor, Methane Cooperation Program Analyst at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Steve Smyth, Senior Engineer at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). They provided in-depth explanations on the latest progress in China's energy methane MRV, EU's energy methane MRV, US oil and gas methane policies, and Canada's real-world oil and gas methane measurements.

Third Keynote Session: Technological Innovation Supporting Methane MRV System Development

This session was chaired by Zhang Jianyu, Chief Development Officer of the Belt and Road Initiative Green Development Coalition. Speakers included Liu He, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Senior Engineer at the Exploration and Development Research Institute of China National Petroleum Corporation; Robert A. Field, Atmospheric Scientist at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); Joshua Benmergui, Senior Science Engineer at MethaneSAT LLC; Xie Donglai, Senior Scientist at EDF; and Qin Kai, Professor at China University of Mining and Technology. They discussed domestic methane emission reduction paths and technology systems, international methane quantification methods, MethaneAIR and MethaneSAT monitoring, Canada's oil and gas methane measurement experiences, and methane monitoring and quantification methods in the domestic coal industry.

First Roundtable Discussion: Methane MRV Practices in Oil and Gas

The first roundtable discussion, chaired by Sun Xiansheng, President of the International Society of Energy Transition and former Secretary-General of the International Energy Forum, featured Ting Li, Managing Director and Chief Representative of the Beijing Office of the Rocky Mountain Institute; Qian Wenbin, OGMP Authorized Representative and Chief Engineer of the Design Institute at China Gas Holdings Limited; Wang Zhen, Director of the Energy Economic Research Institute at China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC); Yang Hanling, Senior Director of Asia Energy Transition at EDF; and Yong Ruisheng, Deputy Director of the National High-end Think Tank Center and Deputy General Manager of the Safety and Environmental Protection Technology Research Institute at China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). They engaged in extensive discussions on methane MRV practices in the oil and gas sector.

Second Roundtable Discussion: Methane MRV in the Coal Industry

The second roundtable discussion, focused on coal methane MRV, was chaired by Liu Wenge, Deputy Director of the Information Research Institute (Coal Information Research Institute) of the Ministry of Emergency Management. Participants included Cao Guoqing, General Manager of Shanxi Aerospace Guotai Clean Energy Co., Ltd.; Chris Wright, Senior Climate Strategy Analyst for Coal Mine Methane at Ember; Jia Qingrong, Secretary-General of the Shanxi Zuo Yue Gas Research Center and Expert Committee Member on Coal Mine Methane and Fair Transition at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE); Jiang Dalin, Director of the Energy Market Research Department at the Technology and Economic Research Institute of China Energy Group; Mao Huiqin, Senior Engineer and Deputy Director of the Carbon Remote Sensing Monitoring and Evaluation Center at the Satellite Environmental Application Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment; and Zhang Zhigang, Deputy General Manager of China Coal Technology and Engineering Group Chongqing Research Institute. They deeply discussed the practices of methane MRV in the coal industry.

Closing Remarks

The forum concluded with a summary speech by Qin Hu, Vice President and Chief Representative of the Beijing Office of EDF, expressing the hope to strengthen future cooperation with all parties to jointly advance methane emission reduction actions and contribute to global climate change mitigation.

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