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German minister pushes for climate change debate

  • Spanish Market: Electricity, Emissions
  • 30/08/17

The new German government will have to talk about the country's climate change targets, the head of the office of the federal chancellory, Peter Altmaier, said.

Altmaier, who is also minister for special affairs, said the new government will need to deal with the issue early on in the legislative period, after federal elections on 24 September. Germany will "easily" meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction target under its EU obligation, which provides for a 30pc cut in 2020 against 1990 levels, Altmaier said. But the country will almost certainly miss a national target of a 40pc cut by 2020 against 1990 levels, he said.

The government remains committed to the UN Paris climate deal agreed in 2015. Germany will fulfil its obligations to ensure that the pressure on abating emissions is kept, and to exert a "pull" on other countries, in particular now that the US has withdrawn from the agreement, Altmaier said.

He rejected calls for a rapid phase-out of lignite-fired power generation. The country's climate protection plan must provide a "synthesis" — lignite-fired power is CO2-intensive, but it is also cheap and available and provides much-needed jobs, Altmaier said. The country's renewable energy law is not only intended to steer renewable power growth but also to provide guidance for operators of fossil fuel-fired plants on how much they will be needed in the future, he said.

Altmaier defended the chancellory's refusal to condone a ban on future heating systems that use fossil fuels, which was included in an environment ministry draft of the climate protection plan. Technologies enabling a smooth phase-out of such systems do not yet exist. There is, for example, no software on the market enabling the owner of a heating oil heating system to combine this with a new heating pump and solar thermal installations, to ensure that the heating oil system automatically runs when the other installations are unable to provide sufficient heating, Altmaier said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU-CSU group is expected to lead any new coalition government after the elections.

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26/05/26

Australia’s Santos to pursue Papua LNG, Alaska oil

Australia’s Santos to pursue Papua LNG, Alaska oil

Sydney, 26 May (Argus) — Australian independent Santos has outlined plans to focus on its best-performing and most profitable projects, including LNG projects and its Alaska North Slope oil tenements, while slashing spending on Australian domestic gas fields. Santos will transform its Australian domestic oil and gas business to reduce capital expenditure (capex) and raise margins, chief executive Kevin Gallagher told an investor forum in Sydney on 26 May. The company will focus on production in the Moomba Central fields area in South Australia state's onshore Cooper basin, maintaining throughput at the Moomba gas plant while deprioritising other Cooper basin fields, to save $300mn in capex between 2027-30 and $150mn/year thereafter. The company will develop two profitable basins — in Alaska, where it is bringing its 80,000 b/d Pikka phase 1 oil field online, and in Papua New Guinea, where it holds equity in the proposed Papua LNG terminal which is due to reach a final investment decision (FID) in July-December this year . Santos took an FID on connecting new gas supply to the ExxonMobil-operated 6.9mn t/yr PNG LNG joint venture earlier this month. Domestic prospects The Adelaide-based firm has prioritised foreign projects in recent years, with Gallagher criticising the Australian government's position on the process for achieving offshore regulatory approvals during the Barossa pipeline court dispute. Despite this it produced first gas at the Barossa LNG project earlier this year and said it had overcome commissioning problems that paused shipments of LNG between 26 February and 21 May, with the project now at 75pc of its planned 2026 production rates and targeting plateau production in mid-2026. Santos plans to drill three appraisal wells in Australia's onshore Beetaloo shale gas subbasin from July, which it said may contain 430 tcf of undiscovered gas and could become a major source of LNG feedstock. The company's other Australian upstream target is the Bedout subbasin offshore Western Australia (WA) where it has repeatedly deferred development of the Dorado phase 1 project — which was to include a 60,000 b/d oilfield, considered to be the largest undeveloped oil project in Australia. Santos will appraise the three wells for scale in 2027. In carbon markets, the company said it would aim to achieve FID-ready status at its proposed 10mn t/yr Bayu-Undan carbon capture and storage (CCS) scheme in 2026. The initial customer would be Barossa, with 2.3mn t/yr planned for sequestration in the former gas field between Australia and East Timor. But third-party CO2 volumes would be sought to commercialise the CCS project further, Gallagher said. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

UN progresses Pacm carbon market methodologies

22/05/26
22/05/26

UN progresses Pacm carbon market methodologies

Berlin, 22 May (Argus) — The Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (Pacm) regulator made further progress on underpinning methodologies at its meeting this week, adopting one and continuing work on those most anticipated by project developers. Pacm's supervisory body as expected formally adopted the methodology covering NO2 abatement from nitric acid production at its meeting at UN climate arm the UNFCCC's headquarters in Bonn, Germany. The body expects to pass a total of 6-7 methodologies by the end of the year, which would cover around 60-70pc of activities currently seeking to transition from Pacm precursor the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and which have received or are expected to receive host country approval. "The carbon markets won't wait for Pacm," a host country delegate said at the meeting, warning that project developers may go elsewhere if they feel that progress is too slow. Another delegate challenged the rationale of asking project developers to propose methodologies while being unable to process and adopt them before 2028. For Africa in particular, clean cooking methodologies are of crucial importance, and the methodology on grid-connected electricity generation of renewable sources is similarly urgent, a delegate from the region said. Both a clean cooking methodology aimed at rural areas and a renewable grid-connected electricity methodology are scheduled to be passed by the supervisory body in July. A large share of CDM projects in countries such as Brazil, Chile or India aiming to transition to Pacm are wind or solar projects. "We are looking at having the methodologies with the highest mitigation potential, and where people are standing there ready to apply them," the co-chair of the body's methodological expert panel said. A further three methodologies are scheduled to be passed at the supervisory body's October meeting, covering savannah fire management, the recovery and plasma-based destruction of residual hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in containers, and the revised Pacm methodology on flaring or use of landfill gas. The fact that the flaring gas methodology is already under revision not long after its adoption in October was criticised by some host country delegates. But the supervisory body's vice-chair at the meeting underlined the evolving nature of the work, with new methodologies possibly triggering changes to underlying standards or the tools used to calculate project economics. The clean cooking methodologies will for instance be the first to trigger the issue of "reversal risk", the vice-chair said. The body hopes to finalise how to deal with this risk before the UN Cop 31 climate summit in Turkey in November. There are 39 submissions for proposed new methodologies, the secretariat said at the meeting, although this includes overlap and re-submissions. A tool to analyse and calculate the "lock-in" risk of a project was adopted at this week's meeting, relevant to projects introducing cleaner technologies that nonetheless emit greenhouse gases — such as landfill gas flaring or rice cultivation — and for which a maximum emissions intensity and lifetime need to be set. And the supervisory body [passed the hotly debated tool](https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2793558 ) to calculate fraction of non-renewable biomass values. The body said it will seek a mandate for advisers to update and improve the values, some of which had been viewed as too strict. Final decisions are expected at the next meeting in July on a revised Article 6 registry procedure — to facilitate the transfer and trade of Pacm credits — and the voluntary credit cancellation platform . By Chloe Jardine Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Q&A: Australia's ACCUs could support biofuels

22/05/26
22/05/26

Q&A: Australia's ACCUs could support biofuels

Sydney, 22 May (Argus) — Australian wood-fibre processor and exporter Midway was selected this week to lead the development of a new reforestation and afforestation carbon-crediting method that might include pongamia trees, which could lead to harvesting of oil seed to be used in biofuel production. Carbon projects manager John Lawson spoke with Argus on the sidelines of industry member organisation Carbon Market Institute's (CMI) Carbon Farming Forum in Fremantle, Western Australia, where assistant minister for climate change and energy Josh Wilson made the announcement . Edited highlights follow: What are the next steps and the expected timeline for this method development? We have a project team stood up and ready to go, and we have already started engaging a lot of industry expertise and interest to contribute to this through targeted input and workshops. We're meeting with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water next week to finalise what the specific milestones are for them and what they want to see, and then we'll be able to have a view as to what we think we can deliver. But we're targeting a 12-to-18-month timeline to get the method to a finalised state to the department. Is there any estimated carbon abatement potential for the method? Some of the work we need to do is to shore some of that up, as pongamia is a completely novel activity. It will depend a bit on how complex the method ends up being, and what the rules are. But a reasonable, conservative rule of thumb might be 100 [Australian Carbon Credit Units] (ACCUs) per hectare, and we've heard people talking about anywhere from 80,000 to 150,000 hectares as potential, which could see significant investment. So, we're talking about millions, if not tens of millions of potential [CO2] abatement. How different would it be from the expired reforestation and afforestation method? We're not proposing to change foundationally what the method is — that is, capturing the sequestered carbon in these forests. It's about creating more flexibility for plantation foresters by expanding what types of forests can be considered under the method to include seed oil crops and other harvest operations, and then have some corresponding changes to the abatement calculations. We're looking to try and simplify some of the measurement and verification approaches. There's potential to expand the type of both mixed species environmental plantings and commercial forestry species under this method. Importantly, this will also create opportunity for some of the activities previously under the farm forestry method, which sunset [in 2024] and wasn't remade. And how different would it be from the existing plantation forestry method? Foundationally, the activity wouldn't be any different, it's just adding a different measurement and verification avenue. Instead of having to use FullCam [Full Carbon Accounting Model] like you do in the current method, it would allow you to do a measurement-based, on-site process. It's important to note that we aren't coming into this presuming that we have all the answers already. What we gave the department is a clear policy position about what we thought the method could be, specifying three areas of focus: adding woody biomass from seed oil crops like pongamia; adding a measured version of plantation forestry; and what we've called a collection of general method improvements. Is pongamia the main driver behind this method? Pongamia seems to be the highest interest species, but that's not to say it's the only species that could be covered under the method. There are opportunities for other species as well. Our view is not to make this a Pongamia-specific activity, it's to make it specific to those types of seed oil crops. It's focused on woody species that support measurable sequestration in the way that the method currently does. The minister announced that Midway will be leading a consortium, but no names were publicly disclosed. How many companies are involved and what types of businesses they are? There's about a dozen companies. The types of businesses that are looking at this are largely emitters, from sectors like transport, mining, energy, LNG. There's very good interest as well from the forestry sector — many forestry developers were interested in providing support. This is a bit outside method development, but would the plan be processing the oil seed in Australia to produce biofuels like renewable diesel? What we're aware of from the people we've spoken to — and we obviously have our pilot project with Rio Tinto — is that the intention is for those seeds to be harvested and processed locally. Just to think about the supply chain logistics, it makes more sense to do that domestically. And there's certainly a lot of interest and need for biofuels in Australia to help with safeguard mechanism compliance , which is another great benefit of what we're proposing under the method. This is one way to capture and recognise real carbon sequestration that does exist in the trees, but it also commercially helps to fund these plantations that ultimately provide even greater benefit in reducing supply chain emissions through the biofuel from the oilseed — in the mining industry, or in large freight logistics, or other activities that have to switch from diesel and other fossil fuels. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Dutch govt formalises renewable gas blending obligation

21/05/26
21/05/26

Dutch govt formalises renewable gas blending obligation

London, 21 May (Argus) — The Dutch government has formally submitted its renewable gas blending obligation bill to parliament, requiring suppliers to reduce a certain amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually by supplying biomethane to their end users. The bill allows for imports from other EU countries. Under the system, suppliers must submit green gas units — groengaseenheid (GGEs) — to a central registry managed by the Dutch Emissions Authority, with each unit representing 1 kg of CO2 equivalent emissions saved. Suppliers can meet their obligation — which is based on their market share of supply — by converting renewable gas guarantees of origin (RGGOs) and Proofs of Sustainability (PoS) into GGEs. To be eligible for conversion, the renewable gas must be unsubsidised and comply with RED III sustainability and GHG reduction criteria, verified through EU-recognised certification schemes such as ISCC. A key feature of the bill is that renewable gas produced in other EU member states can count towards the obligation, including gas injected into the interconnected European gas grid, provided it meets the same requirements as Dutch renewable gas. In practice, compliance would be demonstrated through the use of RGGOs and an accompanying PoS. Foreign GOOs can be transferred into the Dutch system via the Association of Issuing Bodies hub. The scheme will be aligned with the Union Database once it becomes operational for biomethane. The blending mechanism allows suppliers to pay a buyout price to cover all or part of their annual obligation not met by the provision of renewable gas, providing a ceiling price in the event of supply shortages. The proposed price is €450/t, but a sliding scale could be applied, whereby the price rises the more that a supplier uses the mechanism to cover its obligations. The proposal gives gas suppliers the option to carry over GGEs into the following calendar year, up to a maximum 10pc of the total quota, to "prevent unwanted market distortions". The overarching target of the blending obligation is to achieve a CO2 chain-emission reduction of 2.85mn t in 2031, estimated to correspond to 0.84bn m³ of production. This would be achieved through increasing annual targets, starting with a 0.63mn t CO2 chain emission reduction in 2027, corresponding to roughly 0.16bn m³ of green gas (see table) . To support long-term investments, the obligation will continue until 2035, with specific targets for 2031-2035 to be revised based on green gas production at the time. The bill will now go through the Dutch legislative process in Parliament, including the development of secondary legislation to set more detailed rules. By Giulio Bajona Green gas obligation annual targets CO₂ reduction (mn t) Year Target 2027 0.63 2028 0.92 2029 1.33 2030 1.91 2031 2.85 2032 2.85 2033 2.85 2034 2.85 2035 2.85 — Ministry of climate policy and green growth Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

UN backs ICJ climate ruling, key oil nations opposed

21/05/26
21/05/26

UN backs ICJ climate ruling, key oil nations opposed

Edinburgh, 21 May (Argus) — The UN general assembly has adopted a resolution welcoming an International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on the obligations of countries to protect the environment from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with only eight countries opposing — including the three largest oil producers the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia. Pacific island nation Vanuatu put forward the resolution to the UN general assembly, saying "the ICJ advisory opinion confirms that the protection of the climate system is a matter of legal obligation not political discretion". It was adopted on Wednesday, 20 May, with 141 votes in favour, including the world's largest GHG emitter China, eight against and 28 abstentions. Belarus, Iran, Israel, Liberia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the US and Yemen voted against. The ICJ last year determined in an advisory opinion that all countries have an obligation to contribute to cutting emissions. This is not legally binding but could open door for more climate litigation . ICJ advisory opinions "carry significant legal and moral authority — helping to clarify and develop international law by defining states' legal obligations", the UN said. The UN resolution adopted calls on UN member states "to take all possible steps to avoid causing significant damage to the climate and environment, including emissions produced within their borders, and to follow through on their existing climate pledges under the Paris Agreement". Adoption "sends a strong message that tackling the climate crisis is a legal duty under international law, and not just a political choice," the UN said. The US opposed the resolution, with its representative saying the country has many concerns about the court's opinion. The US noted the resolution includes "inappropriate political demands relating to fossil fuels". Countries such as India, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Algeria said the resolution failed to address the obligations on the provision of finance to developing countries, saying the focus was "disproportionally" on mitigation. India, Iraq and Algeria abstained. Russia said the resolution is an attempt to make ICJ opinion "mandatory in nature". It added the resolution "selectively cites the conclusion of the advisory opinion" and the outcomes of the UN climate conferences Cops, ignoring finance and adaptation — adjusting to the effects of climate change where possible. Algeria said the resolution is excessively "highlighting and rewriting" decisions from previous Cop outcomes. The text urges members to implement measures to keep the global temperature increase to 1.5°C, including tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency by 2030, transitioning away from fossil fuels and phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies which were agreed at Cop 28 in Dubai. The UAE voted in favour of the resolution. Brazil, the Cop 30 president, also adopted the resolution, while Turkey, which will host Cop 31 in Antalya later this year, abstained. Australia, which will preside on negotiations of Cop 31, supported the resolution but said it should not be "interpreted as our agreement with every element of the advisory opinion". By Caroline Varin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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