EU and US seek backing for methane pledge
The EU and US are hopeful an initiative to cut methane emissions will gain support at Cop26, a move experts say could be crucial to tackling climate change.
Dozens of countries are expected to support a pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30 per cent by the end of the decade.
The initiative is being led by Brussels and Washington, and EU leaders said they expected the support of 60 countries when the pledge was formally proposed in Glasgow.
Methane is responsible for at least a quarter of global warming, the UN said.
Although it does not linger in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, methane is more potent when trapping heat, meaning cuts to emissions could be highly effective.
The gas is produced by livestock farming, rice farming and fossil fuel extraction, among other practices.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said an agreement to cut methane emissions was low-hanging fruit.
“It is 80 times more warming than CO2, so there is an urgent need to do something, and there is a lot we can do,” she said.
On the eve of the Cop26 summit, the UN’s environment programme launched a methane observatory to track emissions.
The programme said the database “fills an urgent need and creates a sound, independent scientific basis for methane emissions action”.
US President Joe Biden has promised his administration will address leaky gas pipes, a source of methane emissions, as part of a $1.75 trillion spending package.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington hoped to “substantially add” to the list of countries that promised to cut emissions.
Initial backers of the 30 per cent pledge include the UK, Italy, Iraq, Indonesia and Mexico. France, Germany, Canada and Japan have also joined the campaign.
Australia said it would not sign up owing to concerns about its effect on the country’s farming sector.
But New Zealand, where the dairy and sheep farming industries contribute to high methane emissions, said it was considering adding its name to the initiative.
Philanthropic donors have promised $200 million for global emissions cuts, the US and EU said.
UN experts said large cuts in methane emissions could prevent a 0.3ºC increase in global temperatures by 2045.
The aim of the climate talks is to stop temperatures rising more than 1.5ºC above preindustrial levels.
But the UN estimates that this requires emissions cuts of 45 per cent by the end of the decade.
Methane levels in the atmosphere are at their highest for about 800,000 years, scientists have said.
The World Wide Fund for Nature said Arctic nations had a prominent role to play in cutting emissions because thawing polar permafrost released large quantities of methane.
“Taking action now to drastically reduce methane emissions, in addition to slashing other greenhouse gas emissions, could have a significant impact on the climate,” the organisation said.