PEMEX, IMP Launch National Methane-Cut Plan with World Bank

PEMEX and the Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP) have launched the development of a national methane-reduction program as part of broader efforts to accelerate Mexico’s transition to a cleaner and more efficient energy sector. The initiative was launched during the workshop “Actions and Proposals to Develop a Comprehensive Methane Emissions Reduction Program,” held in collaboration with the World Bank under its global Burning and Methane Reduction initiative.

The workshop brought together specialists from PEMEX, IMP and the World Bank to design coordinated strategies for methane detection, quantification and mitigation, as well as for eliminating routine gas flaring. In a statement, Pemex said the effort marks “a decisive step” toward establishing an integrated methane-reduction program aligned with Mexico’s international climate commitments.

According to the company, the session helped identify opportunities to expand leak-detection and measurement programs, develop replicable gas-recovery projects, and improve efficiency at gas-processing centers. These actions are expected to strengthen Mexico’s technical capacity to reduce methane emissions—one of the most potent greenhouse gases—and support the competitiveness of the national energy sector.

PEMEX said the initiative reinforces the role of both the company and IMP as key actors in building a cleaner and more secure energy future for Mexico. According to its 2024 ESG Report, PEMEX aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and has set specific targets to reduce methane emissions by 30% and eliminate routine gas flaring in exploration and production by 2030.

The workshop comes at a time when methane reductions have become a central focus within climate negotiations. During COP30, the United Nations and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition released an assessment showing that global methane emissions continue to rise, despite international commitments to reduce them. The assessment projects that methane emissions—one of the most potent greenhouse gases—will increase by 5% by 2030 and by 21% by 2050 relative to 2020 levels unless new policies are adopted.

The findings prompted the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), the EU’s largest network of environmental NGOs, to warn that without stronger government action—particularly in the food and agriculture sectors—the impacts of climate breakdown will accelerate. “Methane reductions are the most powerful lever available to slow warming this decade. Yet no progress has been made,” said Luc Powell, Senior Policy Officer for Air Quality and Agriculture at the EEB. “The persistent downplaying of the agri-food sector’s responsibility (as the largest emitter) remains deeply alarming.”

The report identifies multiple cost-effective opportunities to cut methane emissions across sectors but notes that many remain underused. It also avoids recommending non-technical measures such as dietary shifts—a gap the EEB attributes to continued political pressure from agriculture and food industry interests. Agriculture remains the largest source of methane globally and is among the least regulated sectors in the EU.