Global Methane Pledge: 30% Emission Reduction by 2030 with 159 Countries United at COP29

The ambitious Global Methane Pledge (GMP), now backed by 159 participating nations, aims to significantly reduce methane emissions by an impressive 30 percent from 2020 levels by the year 2030. During the recently concluded 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29) held in Baku, Azerbaijan, key stakeholders gathered to assess their progress from the past year and to pledge new strategies to combat this potent greenhouse gas that plays a detrimental role in climate change. Key highlights of the conference included:

• RAISING AMBITION: 159 GMP Countries and Nearly 100 National Plans – In a significant move for global climate action, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Guatemala, and Madagascar proudly joined the GMP in 2024. Nearly 100 countries have either completed or are actively working on their national methane action plans, with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), facilitated by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), extending its support to approximately 90 of these nations and funding impactful implementation efforts in 65 of them.
• MOBILIZING FINANCE: Over $2 Billion in Grants and Billions More in Project Finance – At COP29, a coalition of governments and philanthropic organizations graciously announced close to $500 million in newly allocated grant funding dedicated to methane abatement, completing the mobilization of over $2 billion in total grants under the Pledge. This substantial grant support was complemented by international financial institutions that presented billions of additional dollars earmarked for various methane project investments.
• ACCELERATING ACTION: Policies and Regulations from more than a Dozen Top Emitters Across Sectors – Building on the momentum from COP28, the European Commission, supported by the United States and other nations, launched the Methane Abatement Partnership Roadmap, aimed at enhancing collaboration between importers and exporters to stimulate reductions in emissions from the oil and gas sector. Furthermore, six of the top 20 emitting countries in waste management introduced critical new policies and regulations targeting methane emission reductions.
• ADVANCING DATA: Greatly Expanded Data Availability and Action – UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory notified over 30 countries about 1,200 significant super emitter events in the oil and gas sector. In conjunction with the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP) 2.0, the observatory is collaborating with over 140 companies to bolster data quality and minimize emissions. This year saw the launch of two cutting-edge methane-detecting satellites, with nearly 10 additional satellites slated for launch by 2026, marking the beginning of an advanced era in space-based methane monitoring.

The Global Methane Pledge Champions, including Canada, the European Commission, Federated States of Micronesia, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, and the United States, have announced remarkable achievements under the Pledge thus far and reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to spearheading international methane reduction initiatives. In an open letter, they implored all Pledge participants, along with subnational governments, private sector actors, and non-governmental organizations, to enhance and expedite efforts to curb methane emissions, particularly in this pivotal decade and beyond.

RAISING AMBITION: New GMP joiners, national plans, and progress on NDCs

• Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Madagascar joined the Global Methane Pledge, bringing the total members to an impressive 159, in addition to the European Union.
• The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) published a comprehensive guidebook aimed at helping countries incorporate methane and other super pollutants in their national contributions (NDCs). CCAC is currently collaborating with 35 countries to realize these recommendations and enhance the quality of how methane is addressed in NDCs.
• In 2024, the CCAC backed national planning efforts across 33 countries through the Methane Roadmap Action Program, including recent accomplishments by Costa Rica, Cambodia, and Panama. Overall, CCAC has provided assistance to 90 countries in formulating national methane action plans out of nearly 100 engaged in such initiatives.

MOBILIZING FINANCE: Unlocking billions in project investment

• At COP 29, governments and philanthropic bodies announced a groundbreaking nearly $500 million in fresh grant funding for methane abatement. Significant contributions pledged by governments include:
  • The European Commission pledged an additional 105.6 million Euros ($111 million) for joint actions with partner countries identified as having high potential for methane reductions, which includes a commitment of 15.1 million Euros ($15.9 million) for core GMP implementing partners and a further 55 million Euros ($58 million) under the Horizon Europe research and innovation fund.
  • The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through the $22.15 million State Department-funded Methane Accelerator, is effectively reducing methane emissions while fostering development outcomes across sectors such as energy, waste, and agriculture. This initiative has funded methane abatement activities in countries including Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  • The Republic of Korea announced a $20 million investment in the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation on Methane Mitigation Project, directed towards supporting methane reduction and monitoring efforts in ASEAN countries.
  • The United Kingdom pledged £5 million ($6.5 million) in new funding aimed at bolstering the CCAC’s Fossil Fuel Regulatory Program.
  • Canada pledged $7.5 million over a four-year period to mitigate methane emissions from the waste sector in four Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), specifically in Belize, Grenada, Guyana, and Saint Lucia, along with two Pacific SIDS, Fiji and Samoa, and an additional $2 million to support methane mitigation projects in Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, India, Nigeria, and Serbia.
• The remarkable momentum from over $1 billion in grant funding laid out at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) has catalyzed international financial institutions to boost methane-related project finance over the past year. This includes over 2 billion Euros ($2.1 billion) from the European Investment Bank, upwards of 350 million Euros ($385 million) in loans and grants from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and significant investments from the World Bank. The African Development Bank has recently initiated a new $10 million program designed to be gender-transformative in its methane reduction efforts.
• The CCAC’s announced 2024 funding allocation of $17.8 million consolidates its total support for methane abatement in 65 countries since 2022, amounting to $28.5 million.
• With invaluable support from the United States and additional partners, the Global Methane Initiative has conducted over 25 technical assessments and coordinated more than 100 workshops, trainings, consultations, site visits, and meetings, successfully training nearly 3,500 individuals in quantifying and/or reducing methane emissions.

ACCELERATING ACTION: New government and private sector action across sectors

Energy pathway – New progress to slash methane emissions from oil, gas, and coal

• Major emitters unveiled notable initiatives aimed at curbing fossil methane emissions:
  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took decisive action by finalizing its rule to enforce the oil and gas Waste Emissions Charge, which will escalate to $1,500 per metric ton of methane by 2026. It also announced new measures for implementing the oil and gas Super Emitter Program that mandates companies to act promptly when informed of significant methane emission incidents.
  • Kazakhstan expressed its commitment to publish regulations aimed at reducing non-emergency methane venting and enhancing leak detection and repair in its oil and gas sector by the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30) in 2024.
  • Canada issued draft regulations targeting a minimum 75% reduction in oil and gas methane emissions from 2012 levels by the year 2030.
  • The European Commission commenced the implementation of the European Union Methane Regulation, which took effect in August 2024.
• Partners initiated millions of dollars in capacity-building support specifically for methane mitigation efforts within the fossil energy sector:
  • The World Bank Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership, launched at COP28 with more than $255 million in grant funding, has already initiated operations in over a dozen countries.
  • The CCAC launched the Fossil Fuel Regulatory Program, aimed at providing assistance to as many as 20 developing country governments to effectively implement regulatory frameworks for methane abatement from oil, gas, and coal by 2027.
• Countries made significant strides in fostering methane reduction partnerships between fossil fuel importers and exporters:
  • The European Commission initiated the Methane Abatement Partnership Roadmap, with backing from Canada, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among others, focusing on bolstering cooperation between importing and exporting nations to rectify methane emissions from existing assets. Concrete implementation examples will be shared at COP30.
  • LNG buyers in Japan and South Korea released an Annual Report for the Coalition for LNG Emission Abatement toward Net-zero (CLEAN Initiative), which includes groundbreaking methane data disclosure by project.
• Partners advanced initiatives to refine methods for methane measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV) while enhancing accountability toward established targets:
  • Over 140 member companies have joined the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, covering over 40% of global oil and gas production and more than 70% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, with assets distributed across 70 countries on five continents.
  • A group of 20 natural gas importing and exporting countries are collaboratively striving to establish a voluntary standard by 2025 for quantifying and reporting greenhouse gas emissions throughout the natural gas supply chain, supported by accredited independent third-party entities, through the MMRV working group. This standard is designed to enable buyers to incentivize reductions in GHG emissions through their purchasing decisions.
  • UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO), the International Energy Agency, and the Environmental Defense Fund launched a comprehensive accountability framework focused on assessing the oil and gas industry’s progress toward objectives outlined in the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter.

Waste pathway – A landmark year for waste sector action

• Seven GMP participant countries, including six of the top 20 methane emitters in the waste sector, announced groundbreaking new initiatives taken in 2024 aimed at diminishing waste methane emissions:
  • The United States revealed plans to issue a proposed rule to update its Clean Air Act emission standards for both new and existing municipal solid waste landfills by 2025, with the aim of reducing methane and other harmful landfill gas emissions significantly. This year also marked the launch of the first-ever National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste, accompanied by $117 million in new funding for waste infrastructure grants.
  • The European Union fortified its waste-related legislation, set to yield significant reductions in methane emissions. These measures build upon the already achieved 44% reductions since 1990, introducing obligations such as separate collection of biodegradable waste starting in 2024, a maximum landfilling target of 10% by 2035, and a commitment to energy neutrality for urban wastewater treatment plants by 2045, anticipated to lead to emission reductions of approximately 3.4 million tons of CO2 equivalent by 2045.
  • Brazil is in the process of finalizing its National Strategy for Organic Waste Management, emphasizing steps to curtail food waste significantly. The country has launched incentives for biomethane produced from waste treatment, with the Fuel of the Future Act mandating the gradual integration of waste biomethane into natural gas—starting at 1% in 2026 and increasing to 10% by 2036, along with establishing a system for certifying biomethane quality.
  • Canada released draft regulations in June 2024 anticipated to halve landfill methane emissions from 2019 levels by 2030. The new regulations will impose limits on landfill surface methane concentrations, ban venting, and enforce the destruction of recovered methane with requirements for regular monitoring and leak repairs.
  • The UAE declared new initiatives targeting methane emissions from its waste sector, which includes ambitious goals to achieve a landfill diversion target of 50% by 2025 and 80% by 2031 through comprehensive regulations governing recycling facilities and recyclable waste management, as well as imposing minimum fees for landfill disposal.
  • The United Kingdom reinforced its commitment to addressing waste sector methane emissions by reaffirming its aim to completely eliminate biodegradable waste from landfills by 2028.
  • Chile reported impressive advancements through its Reciclo Orgánicos Program, which is expected to cut down 9.5 million tons of CO₂ by 2040, and the National Organic Waste Strategy aims to boost organic waste valorization from 1% to 66% by 2040. A bill designed to prevent the disposal of organic waste into landfills is currently under processing in the National Congress.
• The COP 29 Presidency revealed participation from more than 20 governments in the Reducing Organic Waste Declaration, which encourages nations to incorporate ambitious waste reduction efforts as part of their NDC submissions. This initiative, coordinated by UNEP through the CCAC and other GMP implementers within UNEP and various UN agencies, further calls for the use of data to propel action in the waste sector while enhancing ambition on financing and fostering innovative partnerships.
• Core implementing partners of the GMP are reinforcing waste sector activities. The CCAC announced that it is offering financial and expert support for methane abatement initiatives in the waste sector across 28 countries, including the development or updating of national methane emissions regulations in four countries. IMEO disclosed plans to broaden the detection capabilities of the Methane Alert and Response System to encompass significant methane emissions events from landfills in 2025.

Food and agriculture pathway – leadership from governments, international institutions, and the private sector

• Government action to address agricultural methane:
  • In the European Union, the new Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive (IED) officially came into effect in August 2024, extending its regulatory scope to encompass additional large-scale pig and poultry operations. This directive mandates an emissions assessment of livestock rearing, particularly cattle, to be conducted by the end of 2026.
  • The United States Department of Agriculture designated $115 million in funding for the fiscal year 2024 via the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, specifically aimed at decreasing enteric methane emissions through improved feed management practices. NRCS has also facilitated historic investments into programs supporting farmers and ranchers through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Stewardship Program, implementing various activities aiding methane reduction.
• Through its flagship Reducing Agricultural Methane Program, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) aims to leverage over $900 million to promote innovative, low-methane agricultural projects that will directly benefit more than 3 million individuals while additionally impacting around 10 million people indirectly. IFAD is also working with 17 countries to provide targeted technical assistance and a step-by-step guide to incorporate agricultural methane objectives into their nationally determined contributions.
• The Enteric Fermentation R&D Accelerator, launched at COP28, has allocated over $60 million in catalytic funding for research aimed at developing cost-efficient breakthrough technologies designed to mitigate livestock-related emissions. This funding supports universities, research centers, and agricultural agencies to work on innovations such as new measurement devices, methane inhibiting feed additives, low methane genetics, and methane-inhibiting vaccines, all governed by a dedicated science oversight committee.
• Since its inception at COP28, the Dairy Methane Action Alliance (DMAA) has grown to encompass eight major food and dairy corporations, collectively valued at over $230 billion in global annual sales: Bel, Clover Sonoma, Danone, General Mills, Kraft Heinz, Lactalis USA, Nestle, and Starbucks. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has produced two foundational frameworks enabling the global dairy sector to seamlessly integrate methane accounting and disclosure into their sustainability strategies. Additionally, two members—Bel Group and Lactalis USA—have made substantial progress in publicly revealing their methane emissions, while the remainder of the group has pledged to disclose their emissions by 2025.
• The CCAC is extending its support to 20 countries focusing on methane reduction within the food and agriculture sectors, including Argentina, Brazil, and Vietnam, and is engaging in six projects enhancing agricultural methane integration within NDCs.

ADVANCING DATA – Groundbreaking new satellites and improved emissions tracking

• Significant achievements surrounding satellite advancements and enhanced emissions monitoring were highlighted by GMP participants:
  • GHGSat announced ambitious plans to nearly double its fleet of methane emissions-monitoring satellites by 2026, intending to launch nine new satellites.
  • The Carbon Mapper Coalition successfully launched its inaugural methane-detecting satellite this year, facilitating the pinpointing and tracking of methane emissions over time. Detections have already catalyzed successful emissions abatement actions. During COP 29, Carbon Mapper shared more than 300 initial global detections across various sectors such as oil and gas, coal, waste, and agriculture via its public data portal, gaining recognition as the first third-party notifier applicant for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Super Emitter Program.
  • MethaneSAT introduced an innovative satellite this year designed to monitor and quantify methane emissions globally with unprecedented accuracy. Recent data releases from COP 29 illustrate its ability to map and track methane emission rates across numerous production regions in North America, Central Asia, and South America.
  • The European Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite continues to diligently measure atmospheric methane concentrations globally. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service has recently introduced methane hotspot monitoring maps that receive weekly updates.
• UNEP’s IMEO is set to augment the detection capabilities of the Methane Alert and Response System to include major methane emission events stemming from both metallurgical coal and landfills by the year 2025. IMEO remains dedicated to delivering accessible, dependable, and actionable methane emissions data to interested stakeholders worldwide, with the recent launch of the upgraded Eye on Methane data platform. This platform synthesizes satellite data, corporate emissions disclosures, and scientific studies to empower stakeholders in tracking progress towards methane commitments.
• The Global Methane Hub has allocated $10 million to enhance transparency in methane data, via a collaborative effort between the Carbon Mapper Coalition and MethaneSAT. This grant marks the inaugural support of the Hub’s Methane Data to Action Campaign, which seeks to mobilize $300 million in direct and aligned funding focused on transitioning observations into effective mitigation strategies.

For further information, please contact the Global Methane Pledge Secretariat at [e-mail] or visit globalmethanepledge.org.

– What role do ⁤collaborations between different stakeholders play ‌in‌ advancing methane emissions ‍tracking initiatives?

Ns effectively across diverse sectors, further enhancing transparency and accountability⁤ in methane emissions reporting. The satellite technology aims to support regulatory frameworks ​and inform decision-makers⁣ about emission hotspots, enabling targeted mitigation efforts.

Enhanced emissions tracking initiatives are set to ⁤improve the accuracy of methane emissions inventories globally.⁤

• The Global Methane ⁤Pledge,⁢ in ⁣collaboration with various stakeholders, is ⁤advancing the ‌development and implementation of standardized methodologies for measuring and reporting methane emissions. This ensures ‌consistency and‍ reliability in data collection and enhances⁣ the ability to track progress toward⁢ emissions reduction targets effectively.
• New partnerships and collaborations between governmental organizations, research institutions, and private companies are being⁣ forged to foster innovation in emissions monitoring technologies. These initiatives aim to facilitate data sharing and ​improve the overall ‌efficiency of methane detection and reporting efforts.

Conclusion

2024 is poised to be a pivotal⁤ year in global efforts ‍to mitigate methane emissions across multiple sectors, including oil and gas,⁢ waste, and ‍agriculture. By establishing and enhancing measurement, monitoring, ⁤reporting, and verification systems, along with ambitious national strategies and innovative partnerships, countries and organizations worldwide are taking meaningful steps⁣ toward⁤ addressing the methane challenge. As initiatives unfold, ‍continued collaboration and commitment ⁢at all levels will be crucial in achieving the targeted reductions ⁤in ‍greenhouse gas emissions and ​fostering a sustainable future.