Highlights
- Turkmenistan will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2030
- In 2024, Turkmenistan will obtain accurate information on methane emissions in the country
- Turkmenistan needs a specific methodology for determining the volume of methane emissions
- Turkmenistan NOT among top 40 methane emitters, says MFA Adviser
- Turkmenistan initiates hosting a Regional Climate Technology Center for Central Asia
An overview of the preparatory activities carried out by Turkmenistan on the eve of the 28th session of the Conference (COP 28) of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the country’s actions on climate change, reduction methane emissions was presented by the Adviser on Environmental and Water Diplomacy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Magtymguly Akmuradov in his extensive report at the third session International conference “Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan 2023”.
The third session of OGT 2023 highlighted the environmental aspects of hydrocarbon production.
Here are the key points from Akmuradov ‘s speech:
Turkmenistan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2030
In 2022, with the active support of UNDP, Turkmenistan prepared a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Climate Agreement, which was approved on 12 May 2022 by the President of Turkmenistan.
The ambitious plan aims at the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2030 compared to the scenario of BAU (business as usual) relative to the level of emissions in 2010.
The NDC is a strategic document and a specific action plan with activities, deadlines and budgets is being developed for its implementation. In this regard, in November 2023, it is planned to hold a working meeting under the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to elaborate proposals for the development of a Roadmap for the NDC implementation.
Turkmenistan consistently fulfills its obligations under the UNFCCC and is currently preparing, together with UNDP and UNEP, the fourth national communication on climate change and the first biennial report to the UNFCCC Secretariat.
During the preparation of these documents, a detailed inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, especially methane, is carried out in the country, an analysis of the vulnerability and adaptation of the population, various sectors of the economy in the face of climate change is carried out.
Specialists of Turkmenistan’s departments, in cooperation with UNDP, are developing a greenhouse gas inventory system.
One of the current topics in the field of climate change is cooperation on reducing methane emissions into the atmosphere, as well as the Global Methane Pledge. Turkmenistan welcomes the Global Methane Pledge.
In June 2023, an intersectoral commission was established to reduce methane emissions, whose main task is to assess methane emissions in general and in particular in the oil and gas sector, prepare measures to reduce methane emissions and assess accession to GMP.
Under the USAID Power Central Asia project, Turkmenistan is planning to prepare a review and report on methane emissions in its oil and gas sector. The review will form the basis for a plan of specific activities, including identifying methane emission sources, analyzing data, and making recommendations.
By mid-2024 or the first quarter of 2024, Turkmenistan is expected to have specific information on the amount of methane emissions and the geographical and technological components of this process. This information will help Turkmenistan choose development paths to address these issues.
In addition, the project will prepare a report on the assessment of the possibility of the country’s accession to the Global Methane Pledge and the consequences of accession.
Turkmenistan Needs a Specific Methodology for Determining Methane Emissions
Under a project with the United Nations Environment Programme’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO UNEP), Turkmenistan plans to conduct a series of trainings for specialists on reducing methane emissions, conduct joint research, and improve national hydrocarbon legislation.
Akmuradov said that the data obtained from IMEO UNEP satellite images does not correlate well with the data that Turkmenistan receives from ground sources.
“We need a specific methodology to determine methane emissions based on data from space and ground sources,” he said.
Turkmenistan NOT among top 40 methane emitters, says MFA Adviser
“Recently, various sources have often reported on the state of methane emissions in Turkmenistan. Unfortunately, none of these reports mentioned either the exact figure or the calculation method used,” said Magtymguly Akmuradov, Adviser on Environmental and Water Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.
Akmuradov clarified that Turkmenistan is not among the 40 countries with the largest methane emissions, according to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, which combined data from various sources to create a comprehensive and consistent set of data on greenhouse gas emissions from 1850 to 2017.
The 40th place is occupied by a large oil and gas producing country with methane emissions of 48 million tons in CO2 equivalent.
The third national report on climate change of Turkmenistan, released in December 2015, provided data for 2000-2010. During this period, greenhouse gas emissions in Turkmenistan totaled 66.36 million tons of CO2 equivalent, with methane emissions accounting for 41.28% (about 27 million tons of CO2 equivalent), of which: the oil and gas sector shared more than 21 million tons of CO2-eq., agriculture – about 6 million tons of CO2-eq.
In other words, the country in 40th place emits 48 million tons, while Turkmenistan emits 27 million tons.
Turkmenistan is taking the initiative to create a Regional Climate Technology Center for Central Asia
Akmuradov recalled that Turkmenistan is initiating the hosting of a Regional Climate Technology Center for Central Asia under the auspices of the United Nations. The first step in this direction is the conclusion of an agreement between Turkmenistan and UNEP for the development of regional programs aimed at the transfer of climate technologies to Turkmenistan and the Central Asian states. ///nCa, 26 October 2023
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