Chairman: 

Juan Puertas 

email: jpuertas@gasnatural.com

phone: +34 93 40 25 143

Secretary:

Kari Lindøe Hunsbedt

email: kalin@statoilhydro.com

phone: +47 480 80 294

_{PROGRAMME COMMITTEE A: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT}

_Introduction

_{The International Gas Union has taken a strong stance in favour of sustainable development within the energy sector in general, and particularly in the global gas industry it represents.}

 _{In addition, and following its objective to function as an information clearing-house, it will also promote the exchange of knowledge among the stakeholders of the gas industry worldwide, to support them in adjusting to the increasingly demanding standards imposed in the different regions, particularly since the formal approval of the Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force on February 16^th 2005.}

 _{In line with the work conducted during the past triennium, the goal of Programme Committee A (PGC A) is to monitor and promote sustainable development through the following drivers:}

 _{Ø     Environmental: Reduction of greenhouse gas emission, in terms of energy efficiency, CO2 sequestration and methane control.}

_{Ø     Cooperation with renewables: Combination and complementation of energy sourcing between natural gas and renewable energy alternatives like solar, wind, and biomass.}

_{Ø     Economic and social development: To become a long-term sustainable industry, the gas sector has to contribute to sound economic growth in the countries it operates, while meeting its own economic targets. It should make a lasting contribution to human welfare, including the socio-cultural development of groups and communities that until now have been unable to benefit from the achievements of the developed world.}

 _{Programme Committee A will also be covering a role within IGU, providing support when needed, to the other committees that deal with the entire gas chain, on any particular topic related to environmental issues and sustainable development.}

 _{Externally, our committee will also promote a positive exchange between IGU and other international bodies working on sustainable development and climate change, as a means to keep updated the database on performance indicators and standards.}

 _{These include:}

•     _{WEC (World Energy Council)}
•       _{ICET (International Council for Engineering and Technology)}
•       _{IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)}
•       _{GRI (Global Reporting Initiative)}
•       _{WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development)}

_{To carry through this work programme, the committee has divided the responsibilities into two groups:}

 _{1.      Evolution, expansion and promotion of IGU’s Guiding Principles on Sustainable Development and Climate Change}

 _{2.      Gas industry response to climate change: Greenhouse gases (GHG) reduction case studies}

_{Study Group A.1}

_{Evolution, expansion and promotion of IGU’s Guiding Principles on Sustainable Development and Climate Change}

_{Scope and Purpose}

_{Following the initiative launched during the 2000-2003 triennium, the Dutch Presidency developed IGU’s formal position regarding sustainable development, which will be published as the Guiding Principles on Sustainable Development and Climate Change.}

 _{Given the dynamic nature of this topic, this paper will be a “living document”, and is expected to evolve and expand with future inputs and developments.}

 _{PGC A will be the custodian of this evolution, which during 2006-2009 will be nurtured by the committee through the following actions:}

•     _{Conduct a global review and identify examples of best practices in the gas industry on sustainable development where economic, environmental and social factors are integrated in the business practices. How these best practices  may be extended to other regions in the world, recognising the obstacles in different regions, and proposing ways to overcome them.}
•      _{Discussions with sustainable development scientists on how the gas industry can contribute to a sustainable future.  These could include:}
•       _{Invite one specialist on sustainable development to every PGC A meeting to do a presentation on a specific subject (the specialist could be invited from the company hosting the meeting).}
•       _{Look into new publications on sustainability and bring these into the PGCA group meetings. Presentation by one member in every meeting.}
•      _{Interaction with other IGU committees, particularly on issues like Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions and cooperation with renewables.}
•     _{Interaction with external international organisations}

_{The output will be an updated version of the guidelines by the end of the triennium.}

_{We also expect to provide coherent “sustainability filtering criteria” to the studies developed by the other committees.}

_{Study Group A.2}

_{Gas industry response to climate change: Greenhouse gases (GHG) reduction case studies}

_{Scope and Purpose}

_{The gas industry is continuously improving in terms of energy efficiency and emissions control.}

_{PGC-A will identify examples of new ways to reduce GHG emissions from the gas industry even further.}

_{Such examples will include:}

•       _{New power generation plants in Norway with CO2 sequestration}
•       _{Algeria/Nigeria cooperation to reduce gas flaring}
•       _{Others (to be determined further on)}

_{The case studies will be approached by using the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology, developed by PGC A during the last triennium.}

_{The resulting report will detail the main issues and learnings of these experiences, and state the conditions of applicability of these in other regions in the world.}