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Best Practice Guidance for Effective Methane Management in the Oil and Gas Sector
Language: EnglishPublication Date: September 2020More LessOil and gas supplies will continue to play a key role in a future sustainable energy system to support economic growth and social progress, even under a scenario in which stringent climate policies and measures are implemented. At the same time, oil and gas industries are among the main sources of anthropogenic methane emissions. Methane is the primary component of natural gas, with some emitted to the atmosphere during its production, processing, storage, transmission, distribution, and use. Despite methane’s short residence time, the fact that it has a much higher warming potential than CO2 and that its atmospheric volumes are continuously replenished make effective methane management a potentially important element in countries’ climate change mitigation strategies. This document provides guidance for developing and implementing effective monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) practices, as well as for mitigating methane emissions, from the oil and gas sector. In its discussion on MRV and mitigation opportunities, it is meant to serve as a resource for a broad audience, including owners and operators of oil and gas facilities and policymakers at all levels of government. It is intentionally “principles-based”, recognizing that conditions vary greatly across oil and gas facilities, and that legal, political and institutional aspects differ by jurisdictions.
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Application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources: Case Studies
Language: EnglishPublication Date: September 2020More LessThe United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) is a project-based classification and management system applicable to all energy and mineral resource projects including renewable energy, anthropogenic resource projects as well as injection projects for geological storage. Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), managing energy and raw material resources in a sustainable manner has become paramount to all stakeholders such as Governments, companies and investors. This has to be viewed along with the Paris Climate Accord, which seeks low-carbon pathways in the appropriate developmental strategies. Successful resource management in the modern world requires relevant information on the resource base, understanding of the factors that are responsible for progressing the resources to production, adequate framework conditions set by the regulators and society and the enterprising capacity. A series of case studies on various resource projects from different countries are presented in this report to demonstrate how UNFC could be used for sustainable resource management.
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Promoting Energy Efficiency Standards and Technologies to Enhance Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: July 2020More LessConsiderable progress in energy efficiency in the building sector is reported in the majority of the UNECE member States, and still reaching the potential often falls short due to flawed policy frameworks, and lack of public awareness on available modern technologies and education on long-term economic and social benefits of energy efficiency improvement. This publication is prepared in response to the outlined challenges and aims to elucidate the status of implementation of energy efficiency standards in buildings and deployment of appropriate technologies, and to identify good policy practices and replicable solutions. It also proposes a set of general recommendations and priority actions arising from the analysis.
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How Natural Gas can Support the Uptake of Renewable Energy
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: April 2020More LessThere is a strong medium-to-long-term future for gas so long as it wholeheartedly embraces the energy transition and partners with renewables to produce carbon-free products, notably hydrogen, whilst embracing carbon capture and storage (CCS). Gas has several key advantages. It is highly flexible and can be used for heating, cooling, cooking, waste disposal and transportation as well as feedstock for chemicals, fertilisers and pharmaceutical products. Moreover, throughout most of the UNECE area there are already extensive distribution networks that enable gas to be transferred both across borders and within member states. These network can be adapted to carry hydrogen either mixed in with natural gas or as self-contained systems. They can also be used to distribute CO2.
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Best Practice Guidance for Effective Methane Recovery and Use from Abandoned Coal Mines
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: April 2020More LessCoal production, transportation, storage and use account for roughly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas with a 100-year global warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2) and a 100-year global temperature potential 6-fold greater than CO2, once released from coal seams in which it is trapped creates number of problems even after cessation of mining activities. Following mine closure, methane emissions decrease, but do not stop completely. They initially decline, but can later stabilize and maintain a near-constant rate for an extended period of time. The document presents recommended principles and standards for effective methane recovery and use from abandoned coal mines in a clear and succinct way, providing decision-makers with a solid base of understanding from which to direct policy and commercial decisions. The Best Practice Guidance does not replace or supersede laws and regulations or other legally binding instruments, whether national or international. The principles outlined therein are intended to complement existing legal and regulatory frameworks and to support development of safer and more effective practices where industry practice and regulation continue to evolve. At the same time, being envisioned primarily as a tool to support performance- and principle-based regulatory programmes, the Best Practice Guidance can also complement more prescriptive regulation and support transition to performance-based regulation.
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Pathways to Sustainable Energy
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: April 2020More LessEnergy underpins the development of economies and most of the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda). The energy sector plays a critical role in finding solutions for both sustainable development and climate change mitigation. Since the universal agreement on the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including the goal on sustainable energy SDG 7 in 2015, countries have commenced with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. However, at this stage, there is a gap between the agreed energy and climate targets and the strategies and systems that are being put in place today to achieve them. Accelerated and more ambitious strategies and policies will be needed to fill the persistent gaps to achieve the 2030 Agenda, and in particular, energy will need to play an increasing role across various SDGs. If gaps are not addressed urgently, more drastic and expensive action will be required to avoid extreme and, potentially, unrecoverable adaptation measures. Currently, there are many different interpretations of what is “sustainable energy”. Countries in the region of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) have not yet agreed on a collective pathway to achieve energy for sustainable development. For the ECE region there is an important opportunity to explore the implications of different sustainable energy pathways and to work together on developing and deploying policies and measures to attain the 2030 Agenda. This is why the Committee on Sustainable Energy (the Committee) initiated this flagship project “Pathways to Sustainable Energy” (the project). The objective of the project is the development of strategies and actions to ensure the attainment of sustainable energy in the ECE region . The project’s goal is to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of countries to develop, implement and track national sustainable energy policies aligned with their commitments on climate change and sustainable development, and to understand the objectives and actions of other countries. The project aims to contribute concretely to climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
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United Nations Framework Classification for Resources
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: March 2020More LessThe United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) is a global classification and management system applicable to mineral, petroleum, nuclear fuel, renewable energy and anthropogenic resources, as well as injection projects for geological storage. Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), managing energy and raw material resources in a sustainable manner has become paramount to all stakeholders including governments, industry, investors and communities. This updated version of UNFC is intended to satisfy the requirements of different resource sectors and applications, as well as making it fully aligned to the sustainable resource management called for by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The key changes, including the normalization of the text, make UNFC applicable for all resources.
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Progress in the Areas of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Selected Countries of the UNECE Region
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: November 2019More LessThis publication explores the progress in energy efficiency and renewable energy in selected countries of South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, and in the Russian Federation. The study analyzes policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks, financial environment and level of awareness in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy from 2010 to the present. It also identifies the existing gaps at the required frameworks and environment to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in the countries. This study is intended to support countries in their ongoing efforts towards improving energy efficiency and building a strong renewable energy base. It proposes a set of recommendations for necessary steps in achieving the long-term objectives for energy mix and meeting the ambitious related targets set by the countries.
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Redesigning the Uranium Resource Pathway
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: October 2019More LessThe adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has made it essential to have a ground-up review of all resources and that this indispensable for the successful delivery of all goals, notably for SDG 7 on access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all and SDG 13 on climate action. The energy and climate-related goals have a bearing on uranium resources, one of the clean, low-carbon energy sources. This report shows how uranium resources could create a platform for innovative engagement with the integrated challenge of natural resource management and climate action. The United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC), the comprehensive resource management scheme, provides the necessary tools and conditions for the redesign of the uranium resource pathway. This report argues that the conventional model of uranium as a mineral commodity needs to give way to a new model of uranium as a “critical energy material” for meeting the global sustainability objectives on energy and climate action.
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Removing Barriers to the Use of Natural Gas as Maritime Transportation Fuel
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: October 2018More LessLiquefied natural gas (LNG) has been used as fuel for ships for decades but quality standards are still under development. The UNECE Group of Experts on Gas created in 2015 a task force on removing barriers to the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel. This report summarises the findings to date on the main barriers to the use of gas in maritime transportation. It considered not only gas-fuelled ships, but the supply chain as well. The report demonstrates that in order to allow the use of LNG as marine fuel to grow, six key enablers need to be in place: 1) easy access to LNG, 2) reliable and safe logistics, 3) legal certainty, 4) favourable investment climate, 5) competence, knowledge and skills, and 6) public acceptance.
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Global Tracking Framework
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: October 2018More LessThe United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) regional Global Tracking Framework report is part of a series of multi-agency assessments that monitor progress towards the three Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) objectives. This first edition of the report builds upon the 2017 Global Tracking Framework report, by tracking the indicators of each SDG 7 objective within the UNECE sub-regions. The report then goes further to identify the current status of sustainable energy across a broader set of energy indicators, identifies key issues along the energy value chain, and highlights UNECE country responses to initiate change. The report further argues that this broader set of energy indicators is required to comprehensively track energy for sustainable development.
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Coordinated Operations of Flexible Coal and Renewable Energy Power Plants
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: September 2018More LessThe electricity sector is rapidly changing. Faced with the challenge of climate change, coal consumption is declining. Policy designs focus on raising the penetration of renewable energy. However, there are still drawbacks that prevent renewable energy from being adopted at industrial scale. It is therefore increasingly important for the policy makers to identify ways to leverage the benefits of renewable energy and at the same time preserve the availability, affordability and reliability of electricity. Several studies have explored the possibility of coordinating fossil fuel fired power plants with renewable energy. This report presents several options for the northern hemisphere.
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Best Practice Policy Guidance for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: September 2018More LessNatural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), has clear environmental benefits over other, more carbon-intensive fossil fuels. Substituting other fossil fuels by natural gas can substantially reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and of other pollutants (particulate matter, and oxides of nitrogen and sulfur) and contribute to the decarbonisation policy objectives. Regasification terminals can play a key role in ensuring security of supply, diversification of supply, as well as enabling the integration of renewable energy. This publication looks into a case study in truck loading.
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Overcoming Barriers to Investing in Energy Efficiency
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: March 2018More LessEnergy efficiency is widely viewed as one of the most effective ways to achieve multiple economic, social and environmental benefits and is at a core of making significant progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. This publication presents the outcome of a survey among the energy efficiency practitioners on the challenges and solutions for overcoming barriers to energy efficiency investments. The primary geographic focus is the UNECE region comprising 56 member States from Western Europe (members and non-members of the European Union), North America (Canada and the United States), South-East Europe, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Israel, Turkey and the Russian Federation. This is a joint effort by the UNECE and the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency. The analysis of the survey and its conclusions and recommendations will serve as a useful tool for energy efficiency community. Policy makers can apply the results to the situation in their countries and find approaches to improve investment climate for energy efficiency.
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Guidelines for Application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) to Uranium and Thorium Resources
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: February 2018More LessThe purpose of the document is to provide non-mandatory guidance for the application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources 2009 (UNFC) to uranium and thorium resources. These Guidelines are intended to assist all those responsible for finding, classifying, quantifying, financing, permitting, mining, and processing these minerals such that they are fit to enter the nuclear fuel cycle. The Guidelines help to align the various resource classification systems currently in use for uranium and thorium resource management and reporting, such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)/International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ‘Red Book’ resource reporting scheme and various national systems, in a coherent and consistent manner.
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Best Policy Practices for Promoting Energy Efficiency
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: January 2018More LessThis is the second edition of the Best Policy Practices for Promoting Energy Efficiency publication prepared in the framework of the United Nations Development Account project “Promoting Energy Efficiency Investments for Climate Change Mitigation and Sustainable Development”. It provides additional exemplars of the best policy practices for promoting energy efficiency in UNECE region and beyond. The objective of the publication is to present a structured framework of policies and measures to promote energy efficiency investments for climate change mitigation and sustainable development, as well as to develop a menu of energy efficiency policies and measures.
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Application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) to Geothermal Energy Resources
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: January 2018More LessThis publication includes a set of 14 case studies on the application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) to geothermal energy from Australia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines and Russian Federation. The case studies presented here illustrate the application of the geothermal energy specifications for the uniform use of UNFC in different contexts. These application examples from different countries provide a range of scenarios in the classification of geothermal resources in a manner consistent with the classification of other energy resources.
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European Gas Market Developments
Author: United NationsLanguage: EnglishPublication Date: May 2017More LessThis report provides insights and guidance on developments and needs in the natural gas market. The report, drafted by the Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs for the UNECE Group of Experts on Gas, and in collaboration with a broad range of natural gas stakeholders from the UNECE region, highlights demand and supply trends for natural gas and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and suggests areas where policy makers can support the development of LNG infrastructure and markets that can contribute to sustainable development.
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Best Practice Guidance for Effective Methane Drainage and Use in Coal Mines (Second Edition)
Language: EnglishPublication Date: April 2017More LessToday coal supplies around 30 per cent of global primary energy and 40 per cent of global electricity. Coal extraction has become increasingly challenging as shallow reserves are exhausted and deeper seams, with significant content of methane, are mined. Societies are demanding and expecting safer mine working conditions, and greater environmental stewardship from the coal industry. The global coal industry, national governments, trade unions, and worker safety advocates are concerned that the frequency and severity of methane explosions, especially in emerging economies, are unacceptably high. Coal mine methane (CMM) only becomes flammable and creates an explosion hazard when allowed to mix with air. Methane-rich gases, generally containing 80 per cent to 95 per cent methane at underground mining depths, occur naturally in coal seams and are released as CMM when coal seams are disturbed by mining activities. Methane is an explosive gas in the range of 5 per cent to 15 per cent methane in air. The application of best practices for methane drainage and use is critical to reduce methane-related accidents and explosions that all too often accompany coal mining, while also contributing to environmental protection through reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Good mining practices need to be transferred to all countries to ensure that risks are managed professionally and effectively. No mine, even in the most developed countries, is free from safety risks. Regardless of location or mining conditions, it is possible to significantly reduce the risk of methane related incidents and explosions. Good safety practice in coal mines is to reduce explosion risk by preventing the occurrence of explosive mixtures and, where practical, by monitoring and rapidly diluting explosive mixtures to safe concentrations.
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Development of Energy Service Companies Market and Policies
Language: EnglishPublication Date: May 2016More LessIt examines the current status of ESCO development in twelve countries participating in the project. For the purposes of the report all participating countries are divided into three groups: member states of the European Union (EU), South-Eastern European countries and countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (the latter represented by Kazakhstan). The development of the ESCO market in these countries is not at the same level. The proposed grouping helps examine the current situation with ESCOs in the countries based on their geographical situation and neighborhood as well as the membership in and/or relationship with the EU. Information presented in this report is based on the results of desk research, findings of the Regional Analysis of Policy Reforms to Promote EE and RE Investments (undertaken earlier in the framework of the FEEI project), information provided by the National Coordinators (NCs) and National Participation Institutions (NPIs) in the framework of the project, consultations with experts in the ESCO market area and other available information.
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