Photo: VCG

China will enhance the reduction of methane emission through targeted actions including undertaking studies on methane control, setting related standards, and encouraging pilot projects, as a key work in the implementation of the latest China-US joint declaration on confronting climate change.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, China will promote the implementation of China's methane emission control actions in combination with the formulation and implementation of relevant plans and policies, Lu Xinming, a vice director at the Department of Climate Change of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, told media on Thursday during a press conference.

China will investigate the situation of methane emission control and study and formulate effective emission reduction measures in the fields of coal mining, agriculture, urban solid waste, sewage treatment, and oil and natural gas, said Lu.

Besides, the country will accelerate the introduction of  methane emission control action plan and establish a system of policies, technologies and standards on methane emission reduction in the fields of coal, oil, gas and solid waste in urban areas.

Methane is expected to be included in greenhouse gas resource emission reduction trading, and use market mechanisms to encourage enterprises to reduce the methane emissions according to Lu.

China will strengthen the monitoring, accounting, reporting, and verification systems for methane emissions in key areas, promote the collection and analysis of methane emission data in key facilities, and carry out the evaluation and tracking of methane emission reduction effectiveness in key enterprises in major regions to improve the quality of methane emissions data.

Pilot projects in key areas will be encouraged in methane emission reduction. Local governments and industries should participate in emission control cooperation to promote the development of technologies, facilities, and the industrialization of emission reduction.

The country will also enhance international cooperation in methane emission control, standardization, monitoring, and accounting.

In April, China vowed to strengthen and manage non-CO2 carbon emissions. China's Resolution on the Outline Of the 14th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development and Long-Range Objectives through the Year 2035 has also proposed to strengthen the control of methane, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and other greenhouse gases.

During the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland early this month, China and the US announced the signing of the China-US Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s.

In the declaration, the US cited domestic targets to reduce methane emissions, and China announced its own plans for a "comprehensive and ambitious National Action Plan on methane," aiming to achieve significant emission control and reduction in the 2020s, according to the Xinhua News Agency.