The Methane to Markets Partnership, an international initiative including 20 countries and nearly 600 public and private sector organizations, will be featuring over 20 methane reduction project opportunities at its Beijing exposition October 30 – November 1.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency and China's National Development and Reform Commission will co-host the Expo, in cooperation with several key Chinese ministries and corporations. An array of international organizations will participate as organizing sponsors, including: the Asian Development Bank, the Australian Government, the United Kingdom's Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Environment Canada, the International Energy Agency, and the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe.

"The Methane to Markets Expo is a unique opportunity to promote public-private partnerships which deliver benefits that are good for the environment, good for energy security and good for our wallets," said Marcus Peacock, EPA's deputy administrator. "EPA is committed to being a good global neighbor by exporting America's environmental successes to our international partners."

Twenty times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, methane, the primary component of natural gas, is both a potent greenhouse gas and a valuable energy resource. The Methane to Markets Partnership focuses on promoting near-term, cost-effective projects that capture and use methane emissions as a clean energy source. The partnership focuses on project opportunities in agriculture, coal mining, landfill, and oil and gas sectors, where the collection and utilization of methane is possible using currently available technologies.

The Expo's "International Methane Capture Marketplace" will be the first international forum devoted to the promotion of project opportunities and technologies related to methane recovery and use. It will be held in Beijing's China World hotel and up to 600 participants are anticipated from the public and private sector from countries spanning the globe.

The United States and 13 other countries launched the Methane to Markets Partnership in November 2004.