How to Make COP29 Indian Energy Sector's Methane Moment

The past twelve months have been the hottest on observational record, with rising temperatures wreaking havoc across many regions. Heat waves, floods, and droughts have affected millions of people worldwide. In India, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported more than forty thousand heat stroke cases across seventeen states between March and June of this year. While these recent weather extremes might seem like temporary fluctuations, the ongoing trajectory of carbon emissions threatens to cause a lasting increase in global temperatures, leading to catastrophic and irreversible damage. 

Global climate models have long indicated that reducing methane emissions— which have a global warming potential eighty-six times greater than carbon dioxide over a twenty-year period— is one of the fastest and most effective ways to slow global warming. Methane emissions reduction took centre stage at the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai in December 2023, where thirty oil and gas companies, including India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), committed to the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC). These companies pledged to end routine flaring (combustion of unwanted gas) and achieve near-zero upstream methane emissions by 2030. In August 2024, Oil India Limited (OIL), another state-owned enterprise, followed ONGC’s lead and joined the OGDC. 

According to the IEA, methane emissions from the oil and gas sector must be reduced by at least seventy-five per cent to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Fortunately, research indicates that this level of methane reduction from global oil and gas operations can be achieved using existing technologies, with around half of these emissions being cut at no net cost. For Indian companies, tackling methane emissions also aligns with broader decarbonization and net-zero goals. However, the Indian oil and gas sector must overcome at least two short-term challenges to most efficiently address these emissions. 

Challenges Ahead

First, the lack of a reliable methane emissions inventory hinders the ability to establish accurate baselines and set meaningful targets for methane mitigation. Currently, methane emissions data reported by companies and the government are based on default emissions factors, which can be highly unreliable. For example, satellite-based data from the World Bank suggests that fugitive methane emissions from flaring (unburnt gas released directly to the atmosphere during the gas combustion at flare stack) in India could be nearly 30 times higher than what is reported using default emissions factors. Similarly, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the global average flare gas burn efficiency could be ninety-two per cent, which is substantially lower than the ninety-eight per cent assumed by default in India. 

Second, India lacks a systematic financial support mechanism to complement the methane mitigation efforts of companies. Monitoring and measuring methane emissions—whether through on-ground methods or satellite technology—can be highly resource-intensive, requiring significant human and financial investments. These efforts also demand continuous investment in research, training, and capacity-building, as emission sources are often diverse and dispersed throughout the oil and gas value chain, including hard-to-reach areas like offshore facilities and remote terrains. Moreover, when mitigation opportunities are identified, companies bear responsibility for hundred per cent of the implementation costs, which can create financial strain and reduce their cost competitiveness in a market that already favours imported oil and gas. 

What Baku could do

As COP 29 approaches and company and government leaders head to Baku, they should consider what could be done to overcome these challenges and streamline methane mitigation measures in the oil and gas sector.

First, related to the lack of a reliable methane emissions inventory and drawing inspiration from recent methane regulations in the United States and European Union, India could implement comprehensive rules and standards for sector-wide, methane-specific emissions monitoring, measurement, reporting, and verification; leak detection and repair; flaring intensity; and super-emitter events. These regulations should emphasize empirically based reporting and be outcome-focused, rather than prescriptive. To support this, the government could collaborate with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition through its recently launched Fossil Fuels Regulatory Programme, which offers tailored assistance in building capacity, developing regulatory frameworks, and ensuring compliance with existing policies.

Second, to address the cost of monitoring and mitigation efforts, India should pursue the creation of a government-owned Methane Mitigation Fund to bridge the research and training gaps in addressing methane emissions in the oil and gas sector while providing incentives for innovation and mitigation efforts. Western countries, international financial institutions, philanthropies, and oil companies could further support the government’s efforts by contributing to this fund. 

At COP 28, ONGC demonstrated leadership by signing the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter. As COP 29 in Baku approaches, India can reaffirm its leadership on the issue and commitment to tackling climate change by unveiling new initiatives focused on addressing methane emissions.

(Bajpai is Associate Fellow, Joey James is Associate Director, while Sandeep Pai is Director at Swaniti Initiative)