United States and the European Union pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30%

The United States and the European Union announced a mutual commitment to reduce global methane emissions by about a third over the next decade on Friday, 18 September. Climate experts have lauded this as one of the most significant steps ever taken toward meeting the Paris climate agreement.

This comes after UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of a high danger of failure at the crucial UN climate negotiations, 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop26), scheduled for November in Glasgow.

US and EU to cut in methane emissions

According to the US-EU accord, a target of decreasing at least 30 per cent of worldwide methane emissions by 2030, based on 2020 levels, has been set. If implemented globally, this would minimise global warming by 0.2 degrees Celsius by the 2040s, compared to likely temperature rises by then. The planet is presently around 1.2 degrees Celsius hotter than it was before Industrial times. Boris Johnson stated that the United Kingdom will be among the first to sign up to the US-EU methane promise when it becomes available for further signatories at Cop26.

US-UK on climate change

During a conference of world leaders from key economies on Friday, he stated, that over the previous 30 years, the UK has lowered methane emissions by almost 60 per cent. And methane has good commercial applications; it may be used to produce textiles and antifreeze. So, if we wanted to, we could cut the world's output of this potent greenhouse gas tomorrow, he noted.

In addition, the UN produced research revealing that existing emissions promises from national governments would result in a rise of 16 per cent in emissions in 2030 compared to 2010 levels, although scientists warn that emissions must reduce by 45 per cent in that period to stay inside 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Another research released by the OECD revealed that climate finance money from corporate and governmental sources flowing from the developed world to developing countries was falling approximately $20 billion short of a long-standing objective of $100 billion per year.

(Image: AP/Unsplash)