China Proposes Requirements on Methane-Emission Assessment in Construction Project Environment Impact Assessment
2 July 2024 - China has released a draft-for-comment version of the Circular on Strengthening Methane Control in Environmental Impact Assessment of Construction Projects in Key Industries (“draft Circular” or “Circular”).
The draft Circular requires methane-emission assessment in construction project environmental impact assessments (EIA) for key industry sectors, including the coal mining, oil and gas extraction, livestock farming, household waste landfill, and sewage treatment sectors. China’s EIA requirements apply to new construction projects, as well as expansion and modification of existing projects, as specified in the Categorized Management List for Environmental Impact Assessment of Construction Projects (2021). Therefore, China’s EIA laws and guidance documents broadly affect the environmental impacts of industrial facilities in China, including facility emissions of atmospheric pollutants.
The draft Circular requires construction projects in these sectors to assess their potential methane emissions and incorporate methane-emission control measures into the project EIA documentation. The draft Circular cites methane-emissions calculation and reporting methodologies to be referenced in the construction project EIA documentation, such as the Requirements of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting and Reporting—Part 11: Coal Production Enterprise (GB/T 32151.11-2018). The draft Circular also describes methane-emission control measures for each key industry sector. In describing these control measures, the draft Circular references China’s existing pollution/emission control standards. Furthermore, the draft Circular provides that construction projects must comply with subnational pollution/emission control standards if those standards are more stringent than higher-level (i.e., national) requirements. Additionally, the draft Circular encourages construction project proponents to incorporate into their EIA an assessment of the construction project’s synergistic emission control, such as the synergistic control of methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions for oil and gas extraction and wastewater treatment construction projects. Once promulgated, this Circular will provide further guidance to the specified key industries on methane mitigation associated with operations at the industrial facilities, which will support the implementation of China’s National Methane Emissions Control Action Plan.
IGSD’s annotated English reference translation of the China Methane Emissions Action Plan is available here.
