The Ministerial announced that 150 countries have signed the Pledge which was launched at the Glasgow Climate Summit last year.
It also announced that 95% of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) include methane or will do so by the next revision, and that 50 countries have developed national methane plans or plan to do so.
These 50 countries include Brazil, Vietnam, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Norway, US and the EU – which represents 27 Member States – that have published plans in the last year. A further 10 countries – Belgium, Cameroon, Colombia, Croatia, Estonia, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Malta, and Togo have committed to publish plans by COP28. The UK has published a methane memorandum.
The Ministerial also launched a waste and agriculture pathway to tackle emissions in these sectors. The agriculture pathway is largely focused on improving productivity and efficiency of livestock production which will not impact emissions if livestock numbers continue to grow.
Experts say governments are making progress but lack a sense of urgency and need to focus on phasing out the major sources of methane – fossil fuels, industrial livestock farming and landfilling of organic waste – rather than the technical fixes and voluntary initiatives offered under the Pledge.
Tackling methane – a short lived but potent greenhouse gas – is key to limiting global heating to 1.5C
Spokespeople and their contacts
Nusa Urbancic, Campaigns Director at Changing Markets said:
“Where is the sense of urgency? Governments must move faster to cut emissions if they are to deliver on the Pledge. 2030 is just eight years away and the window of opportunity is closing.
Getting to grips with livestock methane is critical. Our research shows that just 15 meat and dairy companies emit more methane than Russia or Germany. Governments need to back a shift away from the mass industrial production of livestock – not pin their hopes and our future on voluntary net zero targets that enable these companies to carry on with business as usual.”
Contact at COP27: nusa.urbancic@changingmarkets.org, WhatsApp +44 7479 015 909, interviews in French and English. Emissions Impossible; Methane Edition which calculates the methane emissions of 15 meat and dairy companies for the first time is available here.
Mariel Vilella, Global Climate Program Director at Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) said:
“While we welcome the fact that governments are starting to acknowledge the outsized importance of addressing methane, the lack of action on waste frankly stinks. 20% of all methane emissions primarily comes from throwing organic waste into landfills. Therefore the simplest, easiest, fastest solution is not fancy tech-fixes, but to stop putting organic waste in landfills in the first place. With the right strategies in place, we can reduce methane emissions in the waste sector by as much as 95% by 2030, which is an opportunity that we can’t afford to miss.”
Contact at COP: Mariel Vilella mariel@no-burn.org or +44 7847 079154
Kim O’Dowd, Campaigner at the Environmental Investigation Agency said:
“We have only a few years to give humanity a shot at staying within a 1.5°C global temperature rise and we have no time for more pledges or declarations. What the world desperately needs now are real actions and commitments – something far more meaningful to address the ongoing crisis. We cannot wait for another Climate Summit to deliver on the promises made with the Global Methane Pledge. Negotiations for a global methane agreement have to start now, with concrete and binding objectives, mandatory reporting, monitoring and verification, national actions plans and targeted financial support to ensure implementation.”
Contact at COP: kimodowd@eia-international.org or WhatsApp +4736898907
Press contacts:
Claire Arkin, Global Communications Lead
claire@no-burn.org | +1 973 444 4869
Africa:
Carissa Marnce, Africa Communications Coordinator
carissa@no-burn.org | +27 76 934 6156
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GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 800 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries. With our work we aim to catalyze a global shift towards environmental justice by strengthening grassroots social movements that advance solutions to waste and pollution. We envision a just, zero waste world built on respect for ecological limits and community rights, where people are free from the burden of toxic pollution, and resources are sustainably conserved, not burned or dumped.