EU plan new pledge targeting oil and gas methane emissions

Subject: Environment

Context-

SHARM EL SHEIKH(COP-27)– The United States and European Union plan to unveil a joint agreement to step up efforts to reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane from the fossil fuel sector, and are hoping other nations will sign up.

Methane emission-

Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon, consisting of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms (CH4). Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas.
Methane is produced by the breakdown or decay of organic material and can be introduced into the atmosphere by either natural processes – such as the decay of plant material in wetlands, the seepage of gas from underground deposits or the digestion of food by cattle – or human activities – such as oil and gas production, rice farming or waste management.
Methane is 84 times more potent than carbon and doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere before it breaks down.
It is responsible for creating ground-level ozone, a dangerous air pollutant.

Status of methane emission globally-

The 27-country EU is the world’s biggest buyer of gas, while the United States is the world’s biggest oil and gas producer.
Agriculture is the top source of methane emissions worldwide, but experts say the energy sector can cut emissions faster and often at low cost.
Methane is the main component of natural gas and leaches into the atmosphere from oil wells and leaky gas pipelines.
Despite that incentive to capture emissions, atmospheric concentrations of methane surged last year by the highest amount since records began in the 1980s.

Global energy-related methane emissions by region

About Global Methane Pledge-

It is introduced by the United States and EU in 2021 to slash methane emissions by 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels.
It have since been signed by 119 countries, among them 13 of the world’s top 20 methane emitters including Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and Nigeria.
Forty countries are expected to publish plans at the COP27 summit detailing how they will meet the Global Methane Pledge – which is voluntary but aims to trigger more binding policies.
The Pledge does not include China, the world’s biggest methane emitter and Russia, which was Europe’s biggest gas supplier before it invaded Ukraine in February.

Top methane emitting countries-

The world’s five largest methane emitters (from all sources) are China, India, the United States, Russia and Brazil.
Together, they are responsible for close to half of all methane emissions globally.
Of these, only the United States and Brazil are part of the Global Methane Pledge.
Looking only at energy-related emissions, the five largest emitting countries are China, Russia, the United States, Iran and India.
Of these, only the United States is part of the Pledge.