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Asian Development Bank Joins Methane to Markets Partnership

Release Date: 11/03/2006
Contact Information: Roxanne Smith, (202) 564-4355 / [email protected]

(Washington, D.C. - Nov. 3, 2006) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that the Asian Development Bank has joined the international Methane to Markets Partnership. Manila-based ADB will provide expertise and knowledge on implementing and financing full-scale projects. ADB has extensive experience with clean energy projects, including methane recovery and use at landfills and coal mines.

"We are eager to leverage ADB's considerable expertise as the Methane to Markets partnership expands," noted Bill Wehrum, EPA's acting assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, who also serves as chair of the partnership's steering committee. "I look forward to working with ADB to develop meaningful projects that will bring lasting results."

ADB is the second multilateral development bank to join the Methane to Markets Partnership after the World Bank, and its participation will bolster the capacity of the Asia Pacific region to mitigate global climate change. Most recently, ADB provided a $117 million loan to the Jincheng Anthracite Coal Group in Shanxi Province, China which will be the world's largest power plant fueled by coal mine methane.

"On behalf of the Methane to Markets Partnership, I am pleased to welcome the Asian Development Bank to the project network," said Jerry Clifford, EPA's deputy assistant administrator for the Office of International Affairs. "The bank's participation will help develop and strengthen partnerships in Asia to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deliver clean energy to markets throughout the region."

Reducing methane emissions provides immediate environmental and energy benefits. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is over 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide at capturing heat in the atmosphere. Because methane is also the primary component of natural gas, capturing and using methane as a clean fuel also provides immediate economic and energy security benefits.

The Methane to Markets Partnership launched by President Bush in November 2004, is an international public-private partnership to advance methane recovery and use projects in four sectors: agriculture, coal mines, landfills and oil and gas systems. Project network members are private firms, development banks, NGOs or other governmental and non-governmental entities with an interest in methane recovery and use projects. More than 350 organizations from around the world have made commitments to this partnership. The United States has committed $53 million to this initiative over the next five years.

Information on the Methane to Markets Partnership: epa.gov/methanetomarkets