At COP 29 in Baku earlier this week, the President of the International Gas Union (IGU) – Madam Yalan Li – tackled two very important points for the global gas industry: the criticality of financing renewable gases, and deploying meaningful actions for the abatement of the industry’s methane emissions.

With a packed speaking engagement programme while in Azerbaijan, Madam Li was a panellist in two events:

• “Energy Transition Acceleration Via Stakeholder Engagement in Deploying & Financing Renewable Gases”, held on 16^th November 2024, and organised by IGU in partnership with Sedigas and Japan Gas Association.

• “Active Actions on Methane Emission Control in China”, held on 19^th November 2024, and organised by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), The Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development of Tsinghua University (ICCSD) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in partnership with the IGU.

Joining Madam Li on the Renewable Gases Financing Panel on November 16^th were Mr Mitsuhiro Kohara – General Manager – Japan Gas Association, Mr Francisco de la Flor – Director, Sectorial and Multilateral representation – Enagás, Ms Alejandra Landeira – Head of CO₂ Markets & Energy Transition – Naturgy, with Ms Naiara Ortiz de Mendíbil Romo – Secretary General – Sedigas acting as moderator.

In her remarks, Madam Li emphasised three critically important aspects for a successful and rapid global uptake of renewable gases:

1. The need to promote policies on the development of renewable gases to incentive the production, usage and their grid-connectedness
2. The need to invest in research and innovation, support cutting-edge research to drive down costs, improve efficiency, and develop renewable gas technologies
3. The facilitation of financing and promotion of public and private investments in renewable gas projects through innovative financing mechanisms.

In her Welcome remarks for the “Active Actions on Methane Emission Control”, Madam Li argued that reducing methane emission is a fast, effective and cost-effective way to mitigate climate change, and she reiterated IGU’s belief that high ambition and strong actions in reducing methane emissions are keys to maximising the commercial and environmental value of gas.

Madam Li ended her Welcome address with a very powerful commitment that resonated with all attendees: “We will drive methane emissions abatement by using technological progress, financing and collaboration with all our industry’s stakeholders”.