Global Methane Politics project

[Jan Selby]

Hello all, 

With apologies for cross-posting, the Global Methane Politics (METHPOL) project at the university of Leeds now has a website, plus also find below details of our first seminar next week. I hope some of you might be able to make it. We’ll also be having a series of seminars on methane issues right through the autumn and into spring 2027. Plus I’m keen to learn about any other work that’s being done on the politics of methane - just get in touch.

Best wishes

Jan

Jan Selby (he/him)
Professor of International Politics and Climate Change

School of Politics and International Studies

University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK

PI of European Research Council project Global Methane Politics METHPOL (2026-30)

Office: 13.41 Social Science Building
Home page Personal website

Latest articles:
‘The UK’s new National Security Assessment on biodiversity is deeply flawed’, Undisciplined Environments (2026) here

‘Climate-induced redistribution of people is not inevitable’, Env. Research Letters (2025, with I. Boas et al) here

Latest book: Divided Environments: An International Political Ecology of Climate Change, Water and Security (Cambridge, 2022; with G. Daoust and C. Hoffmann) here

Begin forwarded message:

From: methpol <met...@leeds.ac.uk>

Subject: METHPOL Newsletter - 30/06/2026 - Welcome to METHPOL!

Date: 30 June 2026 at 13:09:41 BST

METHPOL News - 30/06/2026 - Welcome to METHPOL!

METHPOL is a five-year research project funded by the European Research Council, and based at the University of Leeds, which seeks to explore the many faces of methane politics globally. Welcome to our first newsletter!

Our website We are launching our project website today - see here. The website includes full details about the project’s aims and research team, as well as an introduction to methane issues. As the project progresses, the website will also serve as an open-access repository for our events, publications and other research material.

Upcoming seminar: Methane politics: unity and division in the oil and gas industry.  

Speaker: Nikolai Drahos, ANU When: 7 July 13:00-14:00 (UTC+1) Format: The event will be hybrid - on campus at the University of Leeds as well as online In person: we will be in the Transport Studies building (pictured left) in room 1.11 Register: please sign up here, a link will then be shared for online attendance

Abstract: Methane emissions have emerged as an urgent global climate policy priority, with new regulatory regimes taking shape in several key jurisdictions. This represents a remarkable change from a decade ago when methane emissions were largely unregulated. While the oil and gas industry has often fought methane regulation, at other times it has been divided. Nikolai’s presentation examines why the industry has been unified or divided over methane regulation, and what the consequences have been for the political feasibility of methane policy. His presentation focuses on the United States, where he has spent the last three years interviewing oil and gas executives, NGOs, institutional investors and political elites. More broadly, Nikolai's research sheds light on the role of incumbent industries in environmental politics. About Niko: Nikolai Drahos is a PhD candidate at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance, where his research focuses on the political history around oil and gas methane emissions. He has over a decade of experience working on climate and energy policy, politics and economics. Nikolai holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Master of Environmental and Resource Economics from the Australian National University. He is a recipient of the Sir Roland Wilson PhD Scholarship, and a visiting fellow in the Gas Programme at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

Other Upcoming Events

METHPOL launch event - September A launch event is being planned for September, with the date and further details to be confirmed soon.  Methane politics webinar series - starting in October Starting in October, we will be having a fortnightly methane politics webinar series, with the exact dates and details of the webinars to be confirmed soon. Keep an eye on our website and newsletters for updates!

Blog from Project Lead Jan Selby

Methane hunting in Romania   The week before last, I had the pleasure of going on my first methane detection fieldtrip, in the area around the city of Ploiești in southern Romania. The trip was coordinated by the wonderful Mihai Stoica of campaign group 2Celsius, with support from Theo Humann-Guilleminot, thermographer extraordinaire and methane hunter at the Clean Air Task Force. I was one of a dozen or so researchers, journalists, campaigners and artists joining Mihai and Theo on their annual tour of Romanian oil and gas facilities. Find the full blog here.

Join the METHPOL group on Linked in:

METHPOL - Global Methane Politics | Groups | LinkedIn

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