International MMRV Working Group Reaches Milestone in Developing a Credible Framework for Measuring Natural Gas Supply Chain Emissions to Drive Continuous Reductions in Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the Global Natural Gas Market
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) today announced progress achieved by an international working group to advance credible information about greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) across the natural gas supply chain to drive emissions reductions in the global marketplace. This working group, which began collaboration last year, is developing a consistent framework for the measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV) of methane, carbon dioxide, and other GHG emissions that occur during the production, processing, transmission, liquefaction, transport, and distribution of natural gas.
Currently, natural gas buyers lack the ability to compare claims being made about the GHG performance of different natural gas supply options. This is due to widely varying approaches for quantifying and reporting aggregated natural gas supply chain emissions and a lack of clear metrics for valuing and fostering higher quality data. The absence of an agreed framework for MMRV limits the ability of buyers to use purchasing decisions to incentivize greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
Comparability and reliability are critical for buyers to have confidence in the GHG supply chain emissions intensity data reported by natural gas suppliers. Buyers need a globally accepted approach for quantifying and aggregating emissions across the supply chain and assessing data quality that ensures comparability and reliability. The MMRV Framework is developing this approach and working to enhance credibility of reported information by establishing expectations for engaging accredited entities to conduct rigorous independent third-party reviews.
The International MMRV Working Group has reached the following key milestones in its effort to develop and deliver this framework for comparing natural gas supply chain GHG emissions from different suppliers in the global market, starting in 2025:
- Developed a consensus-based design architecture to guide the current technical development of the various elements of a future MMRV system
- Established multiple technical sub-groups consisting of a diverse mix of international government technical experts to guide the development process
The ongoing work of the MMRV Working Group includes:
- Leveraging internationally recognized principles for assessing the quality of data used to quantify the greenhouse gas intensity of natural gas delivered to buyers
- Building upon existing technical protocols for measuring and estimating methane and carbon dioxide emissions to establish a performance-based data quality approach that ensures comparability and values accuracy through consistent verification requirements
- Assessing international approaches to provide reliability and confidence in measures of supply chain GHG intensity using accredited independent third-party verification bodies
- Defining requirements and expectations for long-term management of the MMRV Framework to enable trust and confidence in the marketplace
- Seeking and incorporating technical input from industry, academia, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to guide the development process and ensure future market acceptance of the MMRV framework once implemented.
Policy and technical experts from the governments of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Norway, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, as well as the European Commission and the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, provide overall direction and technical input for the International MMRV Working Group. The group also receives input from experts in industry, non-governmental organizations, and academia from global and nationally-focused entities.
Visit the FECM website for additional information on the International MMRV project.
FECM minimizes environmental and climate impacts of fossil fuels and industrial processes while working to achieve net-zero emissions across the U.S economy. Priority areas of technology work include carbon capture, carbon conversion, carbon dioxide removal, carbon dioxide transport and storage, hydrogen production with carbon management, methane emissions reduction, and critical minerals production. To learn more, visit the FECM website, sign up for FECM news announcements, and visit the National Energy Technology Laboratory website.
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