What Is It?
The Global Methane Pledge aims to reduce methane emissions to bring down the global temperature increase.
When was it launched?
November 2021, in Glasgow at COP26
What do the participants have to do?
Participants joining the Pledge agree to take voluntary actions to contribute to a collective effort to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030, which could eliminate over 0.2˚C warming by 2050. This is a global, not a national reduction target.
Participants also commit to moving towards using the highest tier IPCC good practice inventory methodologies, as well as working to continuously improve the accuracy, transparency, consistency, comparability, and completeness of national greenhouse gas inventory reporting under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement, and to provide greater transparency in key sectors.
The Pledge aims to catalyze global action and strengthen support for existing international methane emission reduction initiatives to advance technical and policy work that will serve to underpin Participants’ domestic actions. The Pledge also recognizes the essential roles that private sector, development banks, financial institutions and philanthropy play to support implementation of the Pledge and welcomes their efforts and engagement.
What are the Action Areas?
It is a wide ranging field covering improved emissions measurement and tracking, reducing food & water wastage, policy changes to regulating emissions from various industries especially oil & gas
Who are participating?
Approximately 150 countries have taken the pledge including USA and EU.
Who are the Notable Absentees?
China, India, Russia – 3 of the Top 5 methane emitters have NOT taken the pledge!
Why India did not sign?
The chief reasons given by the Indian govt are
- Methane emissions are survival emissions in India and not ‘luxury’ emissions, as in the case of the West.
- Agriculture is not included in India’s emission intensity target
- Shifting of CO2 reduction burden to methane reduction: CO2 the predominant gas responsible for climate change has a lifetime of 100-1,000 years, while methane has 12 years
- Low global contribution to methane emissions by the Indian livestock
- Methane Pledge outside the ambit of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement
So will the Pledge work?
Wait and watch. Like every climate related announcement and signing, this also needs time for any actual impact to be visible! However, given that some of the biggest countries have not taken the pledge is seems another case of more words than actions. However, not taking the pledge doesn’t mean these countries are not taking any action in this regard and vice versa. And given that actions are voluntary, there is no compulsion on even those taking the pledge to take any real action.
Links:
Previously on Learn N Blog: The Energy Trilemma
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