Although more than 150 countries have pledged to cut methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030 from 2021 under the US-EU-led 'Global Methane Pledge', few have detailed how they will achieve this.
What is needed now is to turn those commitments into urgent action, with financial support for developing countries and national regulations for methane-emitting sectors such as oil and gas and agriculture , according to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which chairs COP28.
Image of COP28 event. Photo: Reuters
The UAE has called on the oil and gas industry to phase out methane emissions by 2030 and wants a final deal that includes concrete plans to turn previous commitments into action.
In addition to lobbying governments , the UAE is also pushing national and independent oil companies to phase out routine oil flaring by 2030. Methane emissions from the energy sector last year were around 135 million tonnes, slightly higher than the year before.
Climate experts say including methane efforts in a legally binding summit agreement is a top priority. Although methane has a greater warming potential than carbon dioxide (CO2), it breaks down in the atmosphere in just a few years, compared to decades for CO2. That means curbing methane emissions could have a more immediate impact on curbing climate change.
The UAE, the US and China are also planning to host a meeting of world leaders on December 2 to discuss funding for the World Bank program and other methane-focused efforts. Countries and charities have previously pledged about $200 million to tackle methane — less than 2% of current climate finance.
As part of a breakthrough in the recent US-China climate deal, China - the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases - said it would include the greenhouse gas methane in its national climate plan for the first time by 2035.
The US will release final methane regulations for the oil and gas industry on December 2, while Canada is also expected to target oil and gas companies with a proposal requiring a 70% cut in methane emissions from the sector by 2030.
Mai Anh (according to Reuters)
Source
Comment (0)