One week after U.S. EPA moved to reduce methane emissions from U.S. natural gas production, the country's top climate negotiator told reporters that the United States would also seek to help other countries limit their emissions from petroleum development.

U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern said on a press call this afternoon from Stockholm that the nascent Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-lived Climate Pollutants would expand its mission to help rein in international emissions of methane from oil and gas production.

Stern said the initiative would seek to work with large petroleum companies and governments of countries where they operate to significantly reduce leakage, flaring and venting of methane during production, "a lot of which can be done at a relatively low cost."

EPA released a rule last week that will require U.S. gas companies to use green completion technology to capture emissions from hydraulic fracturing -- including methane -- by 2015. The administration has argued that the cost to industry will be trivial.

Jake Schmidt, international climate policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said that other countries could learn from the United States' experience with oil shale development and adopt green completion technology early on.

"We have some lessons learned for how to do this well," he said, adding that green completion "pays for itself" because it allows developers to sell methane and other emissions for enhanced oil recovery.

The multinational coalition, which was launched in Washington in February, seeks to support national policies and initiatives aimed at reducing non-carbon greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to short-term climate change. Besides limiting methane from energy development and landfills, the coalition will also target black carbon from cookstoves and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in refrigeration.

HFCs were introduced following an international agreement to limit chlorofluorocarbons, which contributed to ozone depletion. But they had their own climate-related downside.

"Basically, we have to find substitutes for what were once a substitute," Stern said.

Stern added that the coalition would probably not support basic research, though it is in the process of establishing a scientific advisory panel to advise on technical issues. Instead, it will focus on supporting policy efforts in member countries and partnerships with industry.

The coalition is not a large one, and Stern stressed that it did not replace efforts to rein in the carbon dioxide emissions that contribute most to climate change.

Its initial budget of $16.7 million will include a $12 million contribution from the United States. The rest will come from coalition partners including Canada. Other founding members included Bangladesh, Ghana, Mexico and Sweden. They were joined in Stockholm by new members Norway, Nigeria, Colombia, Japan and the European Commission. The World Bank has also agreed to play a role.