Gas venting, flaring, and leakage accounts for tremendous wastage. An estimated 267 billion cubic metres (BCM) of natural gas could be made available to gas markets with a global effort to reduce methane emissions and tackle non-emergency flaring. These volumes amount to over 70% of the EU’s annual gas consumption, which was estimated at 360 BCM in 2023, and could be worth $48 billion.

This wasteful practice harms not only the environment due to high heat-trapping potential of methane, it also harms the health of local communities in the vicinity. Conversely, if this gas was captured instead of wasted into the atmosphere, it would produce revenues for producers, energy security for purchasers, and help slow near-term global warming.

Unfortunately, this major opportunity isn’t on the radar of companies, banks and governments for several reasons. This is in part due to poor data on flaring and emissions, the lack of internal incentives to prioritize their reduction, and high competition for other company priorities. Even when gas-recovery prospects are identified, project development can be expensive and risky, and the economic feasibility can be hampered by tax regimes, expensive borrowing costs, and poor visibility on upstream demand for abated gas.

This event will bring stakeholders together to discuss a new whitepaper from CATF, illustrating how the EU’s You Collect We Buy initiative can be shaped to capture and market gas that would have been leaked, vented or flared.

Ahead of the EU’s anticipated engagement at COP29 on methane reductions in the energy sector, this event will consider how to build the necessary engagement, coordination, and partnerships to capitalise on these opportunities, and create economic, energy, and climate benefits for all.

CATF's Report "Developing an Implementation Plan for ‘You Collect We Buy’ Capitalising on the gas capture opportunity" can be accessed here: https://www.catf.us/resource/developing-implementation-plan-you-collect-we-buy/