The Oil Ministry is committed to the country’s goal of reducing carbon emissions by 2030 and plans to meet its obligations, according to a senior official at the ministry.
Deputy Oil Minister Hamidreza Araqi also suggested last week that the ministry has plans at regional levels to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas sector.
“Provincial oil companies have specific plans to reduce emissions in different areas of the sector, such as refineries and supply lines,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The National Iranian South Oil Company, a subsidiary of the Oil Ministry, signed an agreement on Tuesday to sell around 1.2 million cubic meters per day of associated petroleum gas to the private sector to be used as feedstock for power plants.
Massoumeh Ebtekar, the head of the Department of Environment, praised the move on her personal channel in the mobile social app Telegram, saying it will “help Iran meet its international obligations to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions”.
“It will also help reduce air pollution in Khuzestan Province,” she added.
Iran is a signatory to the landmark Paris Agreement signed last December in the French capital and has pledged to reduce its carbon emissions by 4% by 2030.
The government says it can aim for a more ambitious target of 12% reduction, if it receives $35 billion in international aid to upgrade its infrastructure and move toward a low-carbon, green economy.
Iran’s climate roadmap explicitly states the need for significant policy reform in the energy sector, which is responsible for over 90% of Iran’s greenhouse gas emissions.
President Hassan Rouhani’s administration aims to implement a Measuring, Reporting and Verification System, called the National MRV System, by 2020. The system provides authorities with reliable information on emissions and mitigation actions.
Official reports indicate Iran emits around 800 million tons of carbon dioxide every year, making it one of the world’s top 10 emitters of greenhouse gases.
