IN FOCUS Delivering the Global Methane Pledge Atmospheric methane concentrations have risen by almost 10% in the past 20 years, so how do we deliver a 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030?
Robin Nelson Consulting Editor
T he first half of our extended feature on the Global Methane Pledge summarises the commitment to a 30% reduction in global methane emissions by 2030. We consider natural methane sources and sinks and the impact of anthropogenic methane emissions. We summarise the major initiatives and technologies available for reducing emissions from agriculture and waste by 2030. Opportunities for the energy sector to collect and use methane from anaerobic digesters or avoid methane emissions from waste by investing in waste-to-fuels and waste- to-plastics processes are highlighted. The second half focuses on initiatives to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas supply chain.
What is the Global Methane Pledge? • In November 2021, the US and the EU jointly announced the Global Methane Pledge, a global partnership with over 100 countries, which could avert 0.2°C of global warming by 2050 (US Department of State, 2021a). • Countries joining the Global Methane Pledge commit to a collective goal of reducing global methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030 and moving towards the best available inventory methodologies to quantify methane emissions, focusing on high emission sources (European Commission, 2021). • The Global Methane Pledge was supplemented
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Figure 1 Atmospheric concentration of methane in the atmosphere from 800,000 years ago through 2019, measured in parts per billion (ppb). Different coloured lines represent different data sources Source: EPA, 2021
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