Delegates at this yr’s U.N. COP28 local weather summit are anxious to spice up the world’s local weather change agenda with concrete plans for clamping down on the second-most outstanding greenhouse gasoline – methane.
While greater than 150 international locations have promised since 2021 to slash their methane emissions 30% from 2020 ranges by 2030 beneath the U.S.- and EU-led Global Methane Pledge, few have detailed how they may obtain this.
What is required now could be to show these pledges into pressing motion – with monetary assist for creating international locations’ efforts and nationwide rules over methane-emitting sectors equivalent to oil and gasoline and agriculture, in accordance with the United Arab Emirates’ COP28 presidency.
Some oil and gasoline corporations have up to now participated in voluntary applications to observe or cut back their methane emissions. It continues to be unclear which corporations would possibly be part of the UAE’s name for formalized efforts.
The UAE has known as on the oil and gasoline business to part out its methane emissions by 2030 and needs a last settlement to incorporate agency plans for turning previous pledges into motion, a spokesperson for the presidency mentioned.
Beyond lobbying governments, the UAE has additionally been urging unbiased and nationwide oil and gasoline corporations to eradicate routine flaring by 2030, a COP28 presidency spokesperson mentioned. Last yr’s methane emissions from the power business totaled some 135 million metric tons, barely greater than the yr earlier than.
Climate consultants say that together with methane efforts in a legally binding summit settlement is a precedence. While methane has extra warming potential than carbon dioxide, it breaks down within the environment inside simply years in contrast with a long time for CO2. That implies that reining in methane emissions can have a extra fast impression in limiting local weather change.
“If it’s just a pledge, it will land with a thump,” mentioned Rachel Kyte, the World Bank’s former local weather envoy. “The UAE needs to commit companies and countries to sit down and negotiate a binding agreement to X-out methane.”
METHANE MOMENTUM
The World Bank is anticipated in the course of the two-week COP28 summit to new launch a fund, with backing from unbiased oil corporations amongst others, for detection and cleanup applications in creating international locations which might be main methane emitters, equivalent to Turkmenistan, three sources conversant in the plans advised Reuters.
The UAE, the U.S. and China additionally plan to host a December 2 assembly for world leaders to debate funding the World Bank scheme and different methane-focused efforts. Countries and philanthropies beforehand have pledged roughly $200 million for tackling methane – lower than 2% of all present local weather financing.
We “expect to more than double total grant funding,” Deputy U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change Rick Duke advised Reuters. “That will mobilize the billions that’s needed to actually get at the problem across the fossil fuels, waste and agriculture sectors.”
As a part of a latest U.S.-China local weather settlement breakthrough, China – the world’s greatest emitter of greenhouse gasoline emissions – mentioned it might embrace for the primary time methane and non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases in its 2035 nationwide local weather plan, bringing transparency to a significant supply of worldwide emissions.
Nearly a dozen satellites have been or might be launched into area this yr to observe the gasoline. In phrases of nationwide efforts, among the greatest economies have just lately introduced or plan to announce new rules and insurance policies on methane.
China unveiled its long-awaited methane technique this month, whereas the EU agreed to set methane emissions limits on Europe’s oil and gasoline imports from 2030, pressuring worldwide suppliers to clamp down on leaks of the potent greenhouse gasoline.
The U.S. is because of announce finalized methane guidelines for the oil and gasoline sector on December 2, whereas Canada can also be anticipated to focus on oil and gasoline corporations with a proposal requiring a 70% reduce in methane emissions from the business by 2030, two sources conversant in the plans advised Reuters.
“What was missing from the [Global] methane pledge back in 2021 was a sense of the concrete steps,” mentioned Mark Brownstein of the U.S.-based nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund. “What we’re expecting to see at COP28 is a significant set of commitments coming from the global oil and gas industry.”
“There are a lot of pieces coming together,” mentioned Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, a Washington, D.C.-based suppose tank. “With major emitters like the U.S., China and EU announcing new rules, the time is right for an agreement.”
(Reuters – Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Additional reporting by Sarah McFarlane in London and Kate Abnett in Brussels; Editing by Katy Daigle and Josie Kao)
