EIA welcomes Global Methane Pledge launched at CoP26

GLASGOW: The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) today welcomes the long-awaited Global Methane Pledge unveiled during the CoP26 leader summit.

Launched by US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, this US-EU initiative now has the backing of 105 countries, representing about 45 per cent of global methane emissions.

This pledge has a reduction target of 30 per cent by 2030, although the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends a reduction target of 40-45 per cent by 2030 to stay below 1.5°C.

Tim Grabiel, EIA Senior Lawyer, said: “This is a great start – methane is finally in the public eye and getting the attention it needs. However, the biggest emitters, such as Russia or China, have not joined the initiative.”

In a speech, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his country had a 75 per cent reduction target by 2030, making it the first in the world to respond to the International Energy Agency recommendations.

“However, there is a problem in this pledge in that it does not include any national target goal and is non-binding,” said Grabiel. “We need a global agreement transposed in national policies, tailored to national circumstances to ensure significant methane emissions reduction.”

The pledge also lacks specific measures by sectors. Particularly in the energy sector, technologies exist to implement strong policies at low cost and prevent major methane emissions.

“This is a starting point for a decade of ever-increasing ambition on methane, but bold diplomatic efforts are needed to develop an international governance framework – a new global methane instrument – to underpin and deliver on these commitments and more,” added Grabiel.

EIA has set out a framework for a collective international action on methane emissions in the energy sector, identifying four major pillars of actions.

Signatories to the Global Methane Pledge must now build upon momentum to initiate formal negotiations among signatories and non-signatories to develop a new global methane instrument for the energy sector, one that takes a comprehensive approach toward addressing emissions.

CONTACTS FOR MEDIA

• Tim Grabiel, EIA Senior Lawyer, timgrabiel[at]eia-international.org
• Kim O’Dowd, EIA Climate Campaigner, kimodowd[at]eia-international.org
• Paul Newman, EIA Senior Press & Communications Officer, press[at]eia-international.org

EDITORS’ NOTES

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