The pledge taken by about 100 countries at the COP26 climate talks on Tuesday to slash emissions from methane by 30 percent before 2030 could help cap global warming at liveable levels, but key emitters are missing, experts say
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© MARIO TAMA All told, the 100 or so nations that signed on to the Global Methane Pledge account for about 40 percent of global emissions of the odourless, invisible gas
"Methane is one of the gases that we can reduce most quickly," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
This would "immediately slow down climate change," she added, noting that this potent greenhouse gas -- which absorbs 80 times more solar radiation over short periods than CO2 -- accounts for about 30 percent of warming since the industrial revolution.
In September the United States and the European Union spearheaded the agreement, which has since been joined by Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Colombia and Argentina, among others.
All told, the 100-odd nations that signed on to the Global Methane Pledge account for about 40 percent of global emissions of the odourless, invisible gas.
"This is a historic moment, this is huge," said Fatih Birol, head of the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), estimating that reaching the goal would cancel out the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions from all the ships, planes and other vehicles in the world.
"Today’s pledge... would reduce the temperature rise by about one-third of a degree Celsius by 2045," said Joanna Haigh, emeritus professor of atmospheric physics at Imperial College London.
Methane (CH4) is the gas most responsible for global warming after CO2. While more short-lived in the atmosphere, it is 29 times more potent than CO2 over a 100 years, and 82 times more potent over a 20-year period.
Human-induced sources are roughly divided between leaks from natural gas production, coal mining and landfills on one side, and rice paddies along with livestock and manure handling, on the other.
CH4 levels are at their highest in at least 800,000 years.
Reducing the amount of methane seeping into the air would quickly translate into a slowdown of rising temperatures, and help close the so-called emissions gap between the Paris Agreement target of a 1.5C cap on warming, and the 2.7C we are heading for even if all nations honour their carbon-cutting promises.
Video: World leaders commit to curbing methane emissions (CNBC)
- A start but not good enough -
The reductions targeted can be made with existing technology, according to the UN Environment Programme.
The oil and gas industry -- just behind agriculture as the major source of methane -- has the biggest potential for rapid reductions, notably through the detection and repair of gas leaks during production and transport.
"A 75 percent reduction in methane from the oil and gas sector is possible, and 50 percent of this could be done at no net cost," said UNEP, which recently launched, along with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, a Global Methane Assessment platform.
Methane emissions are also a significant byproduct of bovine digestion, so a shift in human diets away from beef could also make a significant dent. Renewable energy replacing fossil fuels likewise reduces potential sources of the gas.
Taken together, these measures could shave an additional 15 percent off today's emissions by 2030.
The sum total of a 45 percent decline of methane escaping into the atmosphere could keep the 1.5C target alive.
Some climate campaigners say that's what the pledge should have aimed for.
"World leaders are right to target methane emissions but today’s announcement falls short of the 45 percent reduction that the UN says is necessary to keep global warming below 1.5C," said Murray Worthy, gas campaign leader at Global Witness.
"Thirty percent cuts are a start but it’s not enough for 1.5C," agreed Dave Jones, global lead for NGO Ember.
"Coal mine methane super-emitters need to take the first step and admit the scale of the problem. And that they can be part of the solution."
China, India, Australia and Russia did not join the pledge.
"For emissions from oil and gas, one would have hoped to see Russia join this initiative too," said Jim Watson, professor of energy policy at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources.
"These emissions are relatively cheap to plug, so really should be addressed as a matter of urgency."
ab/mh/pbr
"Methane is one of the gases that we can reduce most quickly," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
This would "immediately slow down climate change," she added, noting that this potent greenhouse gas -- which absorbs 80 times more solar radiation over short periods than CO2 -- accounts for about 30 percent of warming since the industrial revolution.
In September the United States and the European Union spearheaded the agreement, which has since been joined by Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Colombia and Argentina, among others.
All told, the 100-odd nations that signed on to the Global Methane Pledge account for about 40 percent of global emissions of the odourless, invisible gas.
"This is a historic moment, this is huge," said Fatih Birol, head of the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), estimating that reaching the goal would cancel out the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions from all the ships, planes and other vehicles in the world.
"Today’s pledge... would reduce the temperature rise by about one-third of a degree Celsius by 2045," said Joanna Haigh, emeritus professor of atmospheric physics at Imperial College London.
Methane (CH4) is the gas most responsible for global warming after CO2. While more short-lived in the atmosphere, it is 29 times more potent than CO2 over a 100 years, and 82 times more potent over a 20-year period.
Human-induced sources are roughly divided between leaks from natural gas production, coal mining and landfills on one side, and rice paddies along with livestock and manure handling, on the other.
CH4 levels are at their highest in at least 800,000 years.
Reducing the amount of methane seeping into the air would quickly translate into a slowdown of rising temperatures, and help close the so-called emissions gap between the Paris Agreement target of a 1.5C cap on warming, and the 2.7C we are heading for even if all nations honour their carbon-cutting promises.
Video: World leaders commit to curbing methane emissions (CNBC)
- A start but not good enough -
The reductions targeted can be made with existing technology, according to the UN Environment Programme.
The oil and gas industry -- just behind agriculture as the major source of methane -- has the biggest potential for rapid reductions, notably through the detection and repair of gas leaks during production and transport.
"A 75 percent reduction in methane from the oil and gas sector is possible, and 50 percent of this could be done at no net cost," said UNEP, which recently launched, along with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, a Global Methane Assessment platform.
Methane emissions are also a significant byproduct of bovine digestion, so a shift in human diets away from beef could also make a significant dent. Renewable energy replacing fossil fuels likewise reduces potential sources of the gas.
Taken together, these measures could shave an additional 15 percent off today's emissions by 2030.
The sum total of a 45 percent decline of methane escaping into the atmosphere could keep the 1.5C target alive.
Some climate campaigners say that's what the pledge should have aimed for.
"World leaders are right to target methane emissions but today’s announcement falls short of the 45 percent reduction that the UN says is necessary to keep global warming below 1.5C," said Murray Worthy, gas campaign leader at Global Witness.
"Thirty percent cuts are a start but it’s not enough for 1.5C," agreed Dave Jones, global lead for NGO Ember.
"Coal mine methane super-emitters need to take the first step and admit the scale of the problem. And that they can be part of the solution."
China, India, Australia and Russia did not join the pledge.
"For emissions from oil and gas, one would have hoped to see Russia join this initiative too," said Jim Watson, professor of energy policy at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources.
"These emissions are relatively cheap to plug, so really should be addressed as a matter of urgency."
ab/mh/pbr
AFP
Biden: Plan to cut methane emissions 'one of most important things we can do'
"It's one of the most potent greenhouse gases there is," U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday of methane emissions.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers a speech during a session on clean innovation and technology at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday.
RELATED Kamala Harris, Energy Department announce $200M to reduce vehicle emissions
"It's one of the most potent greenhouse gases there is. It amounts to about half the warming we're experiencing today -- just the methane exposure."
The new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency would reduce methane emissions by about 75% or 41 million cumulative tons of methane between 2023 and 2035, the administration said.
Under the clean Air Act, the EPA proposes updates and strengthening of current requirements for new sources, broadens the types of sources covered and encourages the development of technologies to reduce pollution from the oil and natural gas sources.
It would also set limits for the first time on existing oil and gas sources, as well as targeting leaks and repairs.
"It's going to improve health, reduce asthma, respiratory-related emergencies," Biden added. "It's going to improve the food supply, as well by cutting crop losses and related ground-level pollution. It's going to boost our economies -- saving companies money, reducing methane leaks, capturing methane to turn it into new revenue streams, as well as creating good-paying union jobs."
The Department of Interior will be proposing rules regulating excessive venting and flaring of gas by requiring oil and gas operators to pay royalties and strengthening "financial assurance requirements" to ensure operators properly plug wells to prevent long-term leaks.
The EPA estimates that 40% of the nation's 2.7 million abandoned oil wells and 600,000 gas wells are unplugged, emitting an estimated 263,000 metric tons of methane in 2019.
The Department of Transportation plans to reduce methane emissions through reducing leaks throughout the some 3 million miles of oil and gas pipelines and hundreds of underground gas storage facilities through the imposition of new requirements and an automatic shut-off valve rule, among other new rules.
A senior official told reporters during a teleconference on background that the new safety regulations will cover some 400,000 miles of previously unregulated gathering lines, as well as 2.3 million miles of pipelines networking cities that have not been regulated.
The U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan also includes new regulations over methane emissions from landfills and the industries of agriculture and transportation and other so-called need-to-abate sectors.
The White House also said Tuesday that more than 90 governments will announce later in the day that they have joined the United States and the European Union in pledging to reduce the world's methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.
Biden said the United States could "probably go beyond" the 30% target.
The White House said it is tackling methane as its warming impact on the globe is about 80 times that of carbon dioxide.
The United Nations Environment Program said in August that methane alone has accounted for 30% of global warning since pre-industrial times.
In its yearly assessment on global methane, the agency said more than half of global methane emissions come from human activities in three sectors: agriculture at 40%, fossil fuels at 35% and waste at 20%.
During the meeting in Glasgow on Tuesday, Biden also announced a plan to conserve global forests and a platform to speed up clean the development of energy technology.
"It's one of the most potent greenhouse gases there is," U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday of methane emissions.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers a speech during a session on clean innovation and technology at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday.
Photo by Robert Perry/EPA-EFE
Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Amid its push to tackle climate change, the Biden administration unveiled sweeping plans on Tuesday to drastically reduce the nation's methane emissions, a leading greenhouse gas and a major contributor to climate change.
The rules were announced as this year's U.N. Climate Change Conference was being held in Glasgow, Scotland, where President Joe Biden on Monday pledged the United States will hit its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
The plan announced Tuesday is a whole-of-government approach that focuses on cutting methane from the United States' largest emitting sources with emphasis on the oil and gas industry, which accounts for 30% of methane emissions, followed by enteric fermentation at 27%, landfills at 17%, manure management at 10%, other sources at 9% and coal mining at 7%.
"One of the most important things we can do in this decisive decade -- to keep 1.5 [degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels] in reach -- is reduce our methane emissions as quickly as possible," Biden told reporters at an event marking the pledge.
Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Amid its push to tackle climate change, the Biden administration unveiled sweeping plans on Tuesday to drastically reduce the nation's methane emissions, a leading greenhouse gas and a major contributor to climate change.
The rules were announced as this year's U.N. Climate Change Conference was being held in Glasgow, Scotland, where President Joe Biden on Monday pledged the United States will hit its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
The plan announced Tuesday is a whole-of-government approach that focuses on cutting methane from the United States' largest emitting sources with emphasis on the oil and gas industry, which accounts for 30% of methane emissions, followed by enteric fermentation at 27%, landfills at 17%, manure management at 10%, other sources at 9% and coal mining at 7%.
"One of the most important things we can do in this decisive decade -- to keep 1.5 [degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels] in reach -- is reduce our methane emissions as quickly as possible," Biden told reporters at an event marking the pledge.
RELATED Kamala Harris, Energy Department announce $200M to reduce vehicle emissions
"It's one of the most potent greenhouse gases there is. It amounts to about half the warming we're experiencing today -- just the methane exposure."
The new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency would reduce methane emissions by about 75% or 41 million cumulative tons of methane between 2023 and 2035, the administration said.
Under the clean Air Act, the EPA proposes updates and strengthening of current requirements for new sources, broadens the types of sources covered and encourages the development of technologies to reduce pollution from the oil and natural gas sources.
It would also set limits for the first time on existing oil and gas sources, as well as targeting leaks and repairs.
"It's going to improve health, reduce asthma, respiratory-related emergencies," Biden added. "It's going to improve the food supply, as well by cutting crop losses and related ground-level pollution. It's going to boost our economies -- saving companies money, reducing methane leaks, capturing methane to turn it into new revenue streams, as well as creating good-paying union jobs."
The Department of Interior will be proposing rules regulating excessive venting and flaring of gas by requiring oil and gas operators to pay royalties and strengthening "financial assurance requirements" to ensure operators properly plug wells to prevent long-term leaks.
The EPA estimates that 40% of the nation's 2.7 million abandoned oil wells and 600,000 gas wells are unplugged, emitting an estimated 263,000 metric tons of methane in 2019.
The Department of Transportation plans to reduce methane emissions through reducing leaks throughout the some 3 million miles of oil and gas pipelines and hundreds of underground gas storage facilities through the imposition of new requirements and an automatic shut-off valve rule, among other new rules.
A senior official told reporters during a teleconference on background that the new safety regulations will cover some 400,000 miles of previously unregulated gathering lines, as well as 2.3 million miles of pipelines networking cities that have not been regulated.
The U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan also includes new regulations over methane emissions from landfills and the industries of agriculture and transportation and other so-called need-to-abate sectors.
The White House also said Tuesday that more than 90 governments will announce later in the day that they have joined the United States and the European Union in pledging to reduce the world's methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.
Biden said the United States could "probably go beyond" the 30% target.
The White House said it is tackling methane as its warming impact on the globe is about 80 times that of carbon dioxide.
The United Nations Environment Program said in August that methane alone has accounted for 30% of global warning since pre-industrial times.
In its yearly assessment on global methane, the agency said more than half of global methane emissions come from human activities in three sectors: agriculture at 40%, fossil fuels at 35% and waste at 20%.
During the meeting in Glasgow on Tuesday, Biden also announced a plan to conserve global forests and a platform to speed up clean the development of energy technology.
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