The United States Methane to Markets is all about promoting Energy from Waste
The partnership is described on their own web site as, “an action orientated initiative to reduce global methane emissions.”
“Its objective is to annually reduce methane emissions by up to 50Mt carbon or to recover 500 billion cubic feet of natural gas by 2015. These measurable results, if achieved, could lead to the stabilisation or even declining levels of global atmospheric concentrations of methane.”
“The USA has initially allocated $53m over five years to fund the Partnership and initiate projects.”
The Methane to Markets partnership is in it’s early days (2006), and it remains uncertain as to how they will achieve their aim and whether for example they will assist with grants, or other forms of funding to help AD Plant promoters to carry out feasibility and related project start-up work.
The UK Government is in favour of energy from waste plant (eg AD plant) construction for agricultural applications, and with the inclusion of the UK’s agricultural and landfill sectors, with potential for reduction in climate change emissions in the Methane to Markets program.
They also state in the UK’s country report that:
“The UK is highly supportive of the Agricultural Taskforce and its work is in keeping with our commitment to address greenhouse gas emissions from all sources. The international experience which the Taskforce brings will be particularly helpful to the UK in addressing emissions from the agricultural sector.”
The Methane to Markets Partnership lists its aims as follows:-
TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE METHANE TO MARKETS PARTNERSHIP
- Identify and address barriers to project development and improve the legal, regulatory, financial, institutional, technological and other conditions necessary to attract investment in methane recovery and utilisation projects
- Identify and implement collaborative projects aimed at addressing specific challenges to methane recovery, such as raising awareness in key industries, removing barriers to project development
- Implementation, identifying project opportunities and demonstrating deploying technologies
- Foster co-operation with the private sector, research organisations, development banks arid other relevant governmental and non-governmental organisations
- Integrate and co-ordinate Partnership activities with related activities and initiatives
- Support the identification and deployment of best management practices n the recovery and use of methane
- Work to improve scientific understanding and certainty in relation to the recovery and use of methane
- Develop collaborative act on plans that outline a series of concrete activities and actions that directly support the core goals and functions of the Partnership
- Develop and implement a process for evaluating progress and reporting results.
Its actions will include:-
- developing reliable systems to monitor methane emissions
- identify emission sources
- identifying and undertaking cost-effective projects that capture and use - as a clean energy source - methane emissions from:
- coal mines,
- oil and gas systems,
- landfills
- and other sources,
identifying and removing barriers to project development and strengthening energy markets to support energy recovery and use.
It is thought, that although the Methane to Markets program is not associated with the Carbon Discharge Management scheme arising from the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, there is no reason why they could not both be applied to the same project.
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