Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), alongside Southeast Asia’s other leading energy companies, have called for progressive approach to methane emissions reduction.

Petronas said in a statement on Thursday that they have released a joint statement to coincide with the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) calling for a progressive, collaborative and inclusive approach to methane emissions reduction in the region’s energy sector as part of a just energy transition which puts nature, people, lives and livelihoods at the heart of climate action.

The signatories – Ministry of Mines and Energy Cambodia, PT Pertamina (Persero), Petronas, Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise, Philippine National Oil Company, Singapore LNG Corporation Pte Ltd, PTT Public Company Limited, and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) – are also members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Council on Petroleum (ASCOPE).

According to the statement, they acknowledge the urgent need for sustainable climate action and believe that significant accomplishments can be delivered by 2030, as part of wider energy transition efforts.

In order to achieve this, they will develop activities in support of the Paris Agreement goals, also recognizing that national circumstances require tailored approaches.

They will also proactively advocate for a just and inclusive energy transition through meaningful dialogues, that align with the climate aspirations set by governments to drive targeted, tangible, properly accounted, and scalable emissions reduction that considers the broader impacts of the energy transition.

They will also collaborate across the Southeast Asian energy value chain to champion innovative solutions on methane emissions management, as well as strengthening measurement, monitoring, reporting, verification and mitigation measures, wherever possible.

They will also establish a Southeast Asian oil and gas sector methane emissions baseline, as early as 2025, informed by internationally recognized practices, to be followed by a quantifiable collective methane emissions reduction ambition by 2030.

They will also share practices and the region’s progress on decarbonization and methane emissions through ASCOPE.

In addition to committing to these actions, the signatories also encouraged peers from across the broader Southeast Asian energy ecosystem to join their efforts to drive industry leadership and position the region as a progressive methane emissions reduction leader.

This Joint Statement aligns with Petronas’ Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 Pathway, in particular its near-term and medium-term methane emissions reductions targets, as well as its commitments to the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter, the Methane Guiding Principles, the United Nations Environment Program’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 and its development of the Methane Leadership Program.

It is noted that methane emissions from Petronas’ group wide natural gas value chain operations have been reduced by 58 percent as of 2023, compared to its target of a 50 per cent reduction by 2025 compared to 2019 baseline.

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