Japan Firms Unite to Cut Methane Emissions from LNG Supply

(Bloomberg) -- Twenty-two Japanese utilities and trading houses are joining an initiative that aims to leverage their buying power to curb methane emissions from liquefied natural gas supply chains, as pressure mounts globally to curb the harmful greenhouse gas. 

Companies joining the Coalition for LNG Emission Abatement Toward Net Zero initiative include all of Japan’s major power utilities as well as trading firms like Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co., according to a copy of a report from the group seen by Bloomberg News.

The CLEAN partnership was launched last year in Tokyo by Jera Co. and Korea Gas Corp. in collaboration with state-backed Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security to collect data on methane emissions from individual LNG projects. The expansion of the group could add pressure on major LNG suppliers from the US to Australia to cut methane emissions from their supply chains. 

A Kansai Electric spokesperson said the utility is considering joining the CLEAN initiative, but declined to comment on whether it has decided to participate. Spokespeople for Jogmec and Mitsubishi declined to comment. Mitsui was not immediately available to comment. 

Japan and South Korea are the second- and third-largest buyers of LNG and together accounted for 27% of the world’s imports of the fuel last year. Although support is growing to cut releases of the potent gas scientists say atmospheric concentrations of methane have risen faster over the past five years than in any period since recording began. 

The greenhouse gas with more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the atmosphere and can be intentionally or accidentally released from oil, coal and gas supply chains. Halting those emissions are some of the lowest hanging fruit in the fight against climate change.

According to the document compiled by Jogmec and seen by Bloomberg, 20 LNG projects were surveyed but only seven responded about their methane emissions.

The expansion of the CLEAN group was reported earlier by Nikkei and a formal announcement is expected at the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference this Sunday in Hiroshima.

(Updates with comment from Mitsubishi spokesperson in the fourth paragraph.)

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