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WASHINGTON: Countries that plan to slash methane emissions to meet the goals of a global methane pact will have access to the first tranche of funding from a hub to be launched next week that will offer grants and technical support.
The new Global Methane Hub will donate the first $10 million in funds to help 30 countries develop plans over three years to achieve the Global Methane Pledge's target to collectively reduce methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.
More than 100 countries joined the effort led by the United States and European Union to slash emissions of the potent greenhouse gas. The plan was formally launched at the Glasgow climate talks last November.
At that time, more than 20 major philanthropic institutions donated nearly $300 million to the hub, which will provide funding and support for countries that signed up to the pledge to help them gather data, develop rules and acquire technology to track methane emissions.
Methane is a greenhouse gas and the biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide (CO2). Several recent reports have highlighted the need for governments to crack down on methane to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the goal of the Paris climate agreement.
"Methane mitigation has become increasingly urgent, and we have witnessed its contribution to current warming," said Marcelo Mena, the CEO of the Hub and former environment minister of Chile.
"Reducing methane emissions by 45% will allow us to prevent 0.3 degrees of warming by 2040."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to some uncertainty around global climate commitments as countries reliant on Russia scramble to compensate for the loss of its gas and oil exports and the United States aims to ramp up its export of liquefied natural gas.
But U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry said he is confident that countries can meet their methane goals.
"I think we are going to beat the 30% (target)," Kerry told Reuters in an interview. "That's because I think we've got enough critical mass moving on it to cumulatively beat the 30% goal."
