Special contribution by Reverend Mel Caraway
Although methane was not on the official agenda for COP27, it has emerged as an important part of this year’s discussions. Today I attended an outstanding panel – “Beyond CO2 Equivalence: Critical Impacts of Methane on Climate, Ecosystems, and Health.” Sponsored by the Energy Climate Institute with assistance from the Changing Markets Foundation, the Environmental Investigation Agency, and GAIA, this session focused on the absolute need to speed up cuts in methane emissions. From the inception of the Gloabal Methane Pledge at last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, the pledge has grown greatly to now include over 140 nations.
Methane is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a twenty-year period, contributing to 25% of today’s warming. Reducing the scale of global methane emissions is essential if we are going to keep global warming below 1.5C and whether tipping points will be reached, which would accelerate irreversible changes to the climate system. The Global Methane Assessment (GMA) has determined that “global methane emissions must be reduced by between 40-45% by 2030”
Reducing methane emissions goes far beyond solving the climate emergency; there are tremendous co-benefits related to health, agriculture in addition to a reduction in the waste of fossil gas.
There are three pillars of action which will enable the achievement of reducing methane emissions. These pillars are: (1) Monitoring and reporting; (2) Mitigation, which includes national methane action plans, focus on the energy sector, agriculture, and waste; and (3) Financial and Technical Assistance.
Since I have been here, I have been fortunate to meet a group of people who are engaged in the work of reducing methane emissions. Most of them are from outside the USA, and are from several European nations, some from Asia, and Mexico. We met informally on Tuesday and formed a WhatsApp group, and we have been in communication daily. We will be meeting again at noon on Friday to continue our discussions and networking, which I am hopeful will lead to an ongoing collaboration as we seek to elevate the problem of methane emissions in the discussions at future COPs. I am confident that these new alliances will continue long after we all return home.
Among the things I have learned are that, while we in the USA are focused on methane emissions from fossil fuel, those emissions only account for about 35 percent of global methane emissions. Agriculture makes up the largest sector at 40 percent and waste makes up 20 percent. Only 5 percent comes from other sources. Another learning is that under the 1st pillar, methane emissions are 70 percent greater than reported. Thus, what we are being told is not the complete picture.
Another thing to remember is that mitigating methane emissions is an environmental justice issue that impacts health globally. It is essential for us to transform our practices in mitigation and adaptation. When we utilize financial resources to mitigate and adapt to methane emissions, it becomes a win/win situation since we are creating new jobs in an emerging market. This is something that cannot be achieved overnight, but it is something that can be achieved more rapidly than many other solutions to our global climate crisis. This is definitely a long-term strategy.
As the publication “Methane Matters” states: “Time is of the essence. Readily available and often low-cost interventions are available to reduce methane emissions. But to deliver enduring methane emissions reductions at the scale required, it is time to initiate negotiations to develop a global methane agreement.