At the UNFCCC COP 26 which was held in the city of Glasgow, The Global Methane Pledge was launched in the month of November, 2021. About 90 countries have made promises. The Global Methane Pledge was initiated by the European Union and the United States. The Global Methane Pledge is a US EU led effort to reduce methane emissions by a third by the end of the decade. The key to reducing global warming is reducing methane emissions. In terms of global warming capacity, it is almost 80 to 85 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
Highlights
As part of its commitment, the countries across the globe has promised to reduce methane emissions by 30% by the year 2030 compared to the levels of the year 2020. This initiative will reduce global warming by 0.2 degrees Celsius by the year 2040 compared to the year 2020. The world is now 1.2 degrees hotter than it was before the Industrial Revolution. The Global Methane Pledge is important because methane is the second most common greenhouse gas in the atmosphere thus contributing to global warming.
Need of the Pledge
According to the United Nations, about 25% of current global warming is caused by methane. The second most common greenhouse gas is methane. This accounts for half of temperature rises compared to pre-industrial levels. Methane is a short-lived gas in the atmosphere (12 years). However, in the atmosphere, methane absorbs more energy. It has a global warming potential that is 80 times that of carbon dioxide.
Benefits of the pledge
This commitment will help reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. According to the Paris Agreement, methane reduction is considered to be the most effective strategy for limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Pledge Implementation Obstacles
Several other international organizations as well as United Nations have developed initiatives which are similar to the Global Methane Pledge. However, the problem is with the implementation. Developed countries need to move forward to support developing countries by providing technology and funding to help them adapt to the changing environment. Take the Kyoto Protocol as an example. There is almost no amount or technology sent. In 2009 and 2020, the United States provided US $ 100 billion in climate funding to developing countries. Developed countries claim that the total is already flowing. But the money that climate change finance disguises is, in fact, is money that developing countries already have or are being used for other purposes. When developed countries lend such money to developing countries, the interests of nationalists are never ignored. These trends need to be changed to overcome the obstacle in making commitments.
Methane
Methane is a component of natural gas and a greenhouse gas. When present in the atmosphere, the temperature of the earth rises. Human methane sources include gas and oil systems, coal mining, landfills, wastewater treatment, agricultural activities and industrial processes. Human resources account for 60% of the world’s methane emissions, of which the oil and gas sector has the largest share. According to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, methane is responsible for about half of the net rise in global average temperature of 1.0 degrees Celsius compared to before the Industrial Revolution. According to the United Nations, 25 percent of warming can be attributed to methane.