UN Secretary General: Targeting methane is a climate fight ‘we can win’

“The climate crisis is accelerating, and we are now on track to exceed the 1.5°C limit in the coming years,” the UN said. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said delegates at a super-pollutant reception during London’s Climate Action Week, which ran from 20 to 28 June.

“Reducing methane is a fight we can win and capitalize on today,” he said. “Our job is to keep those emissions limits as small, short and safe as possible and lower temperatures. This cannot happen without drastically reducing emissions, starting now, and accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels, starting now.”

To do this, the world needs to move quickly to eliminate super pollutants, which are the greenhouse gases responsible for nearly half of global warming to date.

Existing technology can remove ‘super super-pollutant’ methane gas

Invisible, odorless and driving nearly a third of current global warming, methane is the main ingredient in natural gas and “is a super pollutant”, the UN chief said, adding that, unlike carbon dioxide, it breaks down within a decade or two.

“Reducing methane is the single fastest way we can tackle global warming,” he said, referring to recently launched global efforts. Call to Action on Methane,

The International Energy Agency (IEA) found that about 70 percent of methane from oil and gas can be removed with existing technologies at low or no net cost, and thanks to satellites, “we can track methane pollution where it occurs,” he said.

‘The era of voluntary action is over’

The UN Secretary General outlined three steps that governments and industry can take to address the negative impacts of methane:

• Detect and repair any leaks and eliminate routine burning and cold venting
• Make emissions measurable, reportable and verifiable
• Adopt science-based global methane standards and build a market for near-zero methane energy

“Countries like Norway have shown the way,” he said. “If every producer met the standards, methane from oil and gas would fall by 90 percent.”

The world has acted to restore the ozone layer and phase out leaded fuel, and now it must take action on methane pollution, the UN chief said, stressing that “the age of voluntary action is over.”

It is true that more than 70 percent of the gas reduction potential is in the hands of the G20 and much of it is in the fossil fuel sector, and “this is where we must focus our efforts to eliminate methane gas.”

‘Climate solidarity test’

Developing countries need funding, technology and capacity to accelerate action on agriculture, waste and fossil fuels, the Secretary-General said.

“This is also a test of climate solidarity,” he said, pledging that the UN would support any country ready to act.

“Let us be the generation that puts the brakes on the climate emergency in time.”

Fund climate action

Elaborating on the theme at a funding for development forum in London, the UN chief outlined ways to help countries on a greener path.

The forum focuses on providing the necessary funding to help countries transform and adapt to the climate crisis at a time when “climate adaptation no longer means preparing for the distant future,” Guterres said.

“This is about managing risk in real-time as the sweltering heat now ravaging London and beyond makes it clear that our climate is changing faster than our systems, infrastructure and institutions can cope,” he said.

Ensuring ‘climate justice’

With the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that the past 11 years have been the hottest on record and that scientists predict global temperatures will exceed 1.5°C in the coming years, saying “we are entering a new era of climate risk.”

Therefore, adaptation is a “climate justice” issue and is also an economic necessity as well as a development and security imperative, he said.

“Multilateral development banks, climate funds, donors, insurance companies and development partners must work together to put pre-arranged funding within reach of developing countries,” he said. said.

“Together, let us ensure that resilience is the foundation for a safer, more secure and sustainable future, and that the resources are available to make that happen.”