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COP26: Center East nations pledge to slash methane emissions
MEE workers
Tue, 11/02/2021 – 18:52
Leaders from throughout the Center East on the COP26 summit in Glasgow have pledged to chop methane emission ranges by 30 p.c by 2030 as a part of efforts to sort out the local weather disaster.
The International Methane Pledge is a global initiative put ahead by the US and EU to cut back methane emissions, an efficient strategy to sluggish warming within the quick time period.
John Kerry, the Biden administration’s local weather envoy, mentioned greater than 100 nations had joined the hassle to fulfill the targets of the pledge.
A few of the nations within the area to signal onto the pledge embrace Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait; Libya; Mali; Morocco; Saudi Arabia; Tunisia; and the United Arab Emirates.
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Lacking from the checklist of signatories are Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Iran; Lebanon, Mauritania; Oman; Palestine; Qatar; Turkey; and Yemen.
Chopping methane, a strong however comparatively short-lived greenhouse fuel that comes from sources together with fossil gasoline extraction and livestock farming, is seen as making a major short-term contribution to local weather motion.
Talking on the summit, US President Joe Biden thanked those that have signed the “game-changing dedication”.
“Collectively we’re committing to collectively scale back our methane by 30 p.c by 2030, and I feel we might in all probability transcend that,” he mentioned. “Right this moment it’s approaching 100 nations which might be signing on. That’s almost half the worldwide methane emissions… It’s going to make an enormous distinction.”
Biden mentioned this might not solely assist combat local weather change but additionally enhance well being, minimize crop losses and scale back air pollution.
“Some of the necessary issues we will do on this decisive decade to maintain 1.5 levels is scale back our methane emissions as rapidly as attainable,” he mentioned. “It’s one of the vital potent greenhouse gases there’s. It quantities to about half the warming we’re experiencing as we speak.”
‘Lowest hanging fruit’
Agriculture is known to be liable for 25 p.c of Scotland’s greenhouse gases and is seen as the best contributor worldwide.
Cattle and different ruminants produce enormous ranges of methane as they break wind, with researchers suggesting a change to their feed is important to chop emissions.
Moreover the US and EU, main methane emitters like Nigeria and Pakistan have additionally signed up.
“We have now to behave now. We can’t anticipate 2050. We have now to chop emissions quick,” European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned at Tuesday’s pledge launch occasion.
“Methane is 80 instances extra international warming than CO2. And as we speak, international methane emissions develop sooner than at any time prior to now. So slicing again on methane emissions is without doubt one of the best issues we will do to cut back near-term international warming and hold 1.5C. It’s the lowest hanging fruit.”
Earlier this yr, the UN urged world governments to sort out methane, saying that within the close to time period, it was the “strongest lever” to sluggish the tempo of local weather change.
If met, the pledge will stop 0.2 levels of warming by 2050. Nonetheless, among the world’s high emitters of methane, together with China, Russia and India haven’t signed up.
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