UN, EU set up methane emissions watcher
The United Nations and the members of the European Union said October 31 that deep cuts in methane emissions could help the world achieve some of its climate targets.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) joined forces with the EU to launch the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
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“IMEO will improve the reporting accuracy and public transparency of human-caused methane emissions,” their joint statement read. “IMEO will initially focus on methane emissions from the fossil fuel sector, and then expand to other major emitting sectors like agriculture and waste.”
UNEP found that reducing emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas with more warming potential than carbon dioxide, could cut some 0.28 degrees Celsius from current forecasts for average global temperature increases.
Methane is 80 times more potent that CO2, but its atmospheric lifespan is relatively short compared to other greenhouse gasses. That suggests eliminating or reducing methane emissions could have a more immediate impact on the rate that global mean temperatures are expected to increase.
"We need to cut methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry," UNEP executive director Inger Anderson said. "But this is not a get-out-of-jail free card: methane reductions must go hand in hand with actions to decarbonise the energy system to limit warming to 1.5°C, as called for in the Paris Agreement."