The White House announced next steps for its energy security task force. The task force is a joint effort with the European Union (E.U.). During 2023, the task force will continue to focus on the energy market shocks and high energy prices caused by Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Task force priorities for 2023 will include: continuous assessments of LNG markets and ensuring U.S. LNG deliveries to Europe of 50 bcm in 2023, reduction of methane emissions and energy savings and efficiency measures. 

Further, the task force will help to implement U.S. and E.U. efforts to reduce methane emissions, both in bilateral trade and at the global level, by supporting domestic and international measures to promote increased monitoring, reporting and verification, as well as transparency, for methane emissions data in the fossil fuel sector.

Both sides also plan to pursue initiatives to reduce flaring, venting and leakage in oil and gas value chains, including through innovative purchasing frameworks to incentivize the capture of this gas to bring to market such as the E.U.’s proposed “you collect, we buy” approach. The task force will further facilitate these efforts to reduce methane emissions and increase the liquidity of natural gas that minimizes flaring, methane and CO2 emissions across the value chain.

The task force also will facilitate the exchange of best practices on energy savings and energy efficiency schemes and organize a dedicated conversation around implemented and planned policies for demand response by E.U. Member States.