At COP 26, in November 2021 Countries representing 45% of global methane emissions pledged to reduce their emissions by at least 30% below 2020 level by 2030. This voluntary framework launched by the Climate and Clean Coalition (CCAC) partners United States and European Commission is projected to reduce warming by 0.2˚C by 2050. Currently, over 150 countries have signed onto this pledge and are ramping up domestic actions to address methane emissions.
At COP 28 the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) in a joint side event with Greener Impact International (GII) hosted a ministerial event that brought together countries to share their actions and progress of the Global Methane Pledge. In an opening remarks Mr. John Kerry, the US special envoy on climate change shared that over 86 countries covering over half of emissions including China, have put in place National Methane Action Plans or are engaging with their partners to develop one. He encouraged Parties who have not done so back up their methane action plans with firm policies and regulations.
The European Commissioner for energy Mr. Kadri Simpson underscored the importance of political commitment in accelerating policy attention, technological advancement and finance” within such a short period as two years from the Methane pledge. He shared about EU’s methane strategy which is aimed at reducing methane emissions, improve air quality and reinforce the EU’s global leadership in the fight against climate change.
Talking about resource mobilization for action against methane, Mr. Kadri mentioned that in the past years, the EU has contributed 220 million Euros for Methane finance and that the EU financial institutions are also investing significantly to contribute to Methane abatement with almost 1.8 billion Euros from the European Investment Bank and more than 200 million Euros from the European Bank for Construction and Development. He further encouraged Parties to identify their needs and take advantage of the available resources.
On the subject of project execution, UNEP through their Executive Director was grateful to the EU for allocating funding for the operation of the International Methane Emission Observatory which is made available to all through satellite and capable to provide observations on Methane emissions. She also announced the launching by UNEP which is to take place very soon, of the Methane Alert Response System in collaboration with International Energy Agency (IEA) the Netherland Institute for Space Research and the French Energy Research Institute.
This alert system which will be run by IMEO, will be able to detect leakages and pinpoint with accuracy where they are from. And when detected, the governments or companies responsible will be notified. She also praised the comprehensive Methane abatement system put in place by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) which goes from policy to institutional support.
Representatives of countries and international organizations also joined this panel and presented the actions being taken to address methane emission at their country level.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Jonathan Banks, the Global Director of the Methane Pollution Prevention program at CATF reaffirmed the commitment of CATF since the year 2000 to work more towards achieving the 1.5-degree target though Methane abatement actions as they understand the effect of Methane gas on global warming and how important it is to address its emission on the road of keeping the 1.5 degree alive. Quoting a statement by Inger Anderson at the Methane summit that goes: “Methane is our life boat and we must take it”, he added: “what we are seeking to do is a single greatest action we can take to finally start bending the curve on climate”.
As a reflection from the event, the Executive Director of Greener Impact International, Mr. Kassim Gawusu-Toure was encouraged by the momentum built by Parties and called for establishment of mechanisms for increased participation of national level civil Society Organisations in the methane action. Greener Impact International through the support of Clean Air Task Force has taken the lead in mobilizing Ghana’s CSOs in support of national level action against methane and we are well convinced that with the right frameworks and mechanisms CSOs and NGOs can play a critical role in advancing action against methane through awareness creation and promotion of community uptake of clean energy technologies and methane capture technologies.
