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Poland Looks to Join Methane Partnership

Release Date: 11/30/2006
Contact Information: Jennifer Wood, (202) 564-4355 / wood.jennifer@epa.gov

(11/30/06) The Republic of Poland officially has requested to become a member of the international Methane to Markets Partnership. Poland would join the United States and 17 other countries in efforts to advance the cost-effective, near-term recovery and use of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – as a clean energy source.

The Methane to Markets Partnership, launched by the Bush Administration in November 2004, is a public-private partnership that brings together the technical and market expertise, financing, and technology necessary to advance methane recovery and use projects at landfills, agricultural operations, coal mines and oil and gas systems. Joint commitments under Methane to Markets help meet the shared goals of reducing global methane emissions while enhancing economic growth, promoting energy security and improving the environment. By 2015, Methane to Markets has the potential to deliver annual reductions in methane emissions equal to planting 55 million acres of trees or eliminating emissions from 33 million cars in America. The United States has committed $53 million to this initiative over the next five years.

Member countries work in collaboration with the private sector, multilateral development banks, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations through the Partnership's Project Network. In high-level meetings Nov. 28 at the White House, Poland's Minister of Finance expressed a strong desire to join EPA's Methane to Markets Partnership. Currently, more than 350 organizations from around the world have made commitments to this partnership. Current Methane to Markets partner countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. All countries that want to be a part of Methane to Markets must receive approval from the Partnership's Steering Committee.

EPA is coordinating the actions of several federal partners including the State Department, Department of Energy, US Agency for International Development, US Department of Agriculture, and the US Trade and Development Agency.

Learn more about Methane to Markets: epa.gov/methanetomarkets/