Glasgow, 5 November 2021 (TDI): Pakistan has officially signed the United States (US) led Global Methane Pledge at the United Nations Climate Change Summit, the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26).
Pakistan is one of the world’s top ten methane emitters. By signing the pledge, Pakistan agrees to contribute to cutting methane emissions by 30% by the end of this decade.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAMP) on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam, is heading Pakistan’s delegation at COP26. The delegation comprises 10 people including Minister for Climate Change, Zartaj Gul.
SAMP Amin Aslam met US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Summit. In a tweet, he said, “President Biden thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan for committing to the pledged”.
Speaking at the Summit, President Biden thanked all the countries who signed the Global Methane Pledge. He termed this as a ‘game-changing commitment”. President Biden said, “One of the most important things we can do, in this decisive decade, to keep 1.5 degrees, is reduce our methane emissions as quickly as possible.“ He said this will help in mitigating the impacts of climate change. It will also improve health, cut crop losses and reduce pollution.
Additionally, the United States embassy in Islamabad also welcomed Pakistan’s signing of the pledge and has termed it as “another win for US-Pakistan partnership to mitigate the impact of climate change.”
Global Methane Pledge: An Overview
The Global Methane Pledge is an initiative spearheaded by the United States (US) and European Union (EU). It was announced in September 2021 but formally launched on 2 November at the COP26 Summit.
The pledge is aimed at making collective efforts to reduce methane emissions by 30% compared with 2020 levels. It is a global, not national, target. Delivering on the target of the pledge will eliminate over 0.2˚C warming by 2050.
Moreover, the US and EU have announced over $300 million in financial support for the pledges. The pledge is not legally binding.
Additionally, more than 100 countries have signed the pledge. Furthermore, the pledge includes six of the world’s 10 biggest methane emitters including the US, Brazil, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Mexico. Whereas, remaining four countries, including China, Russia, India, and Australia, have not yet joined the pledge.
Therefore, keeping this in consideration, the pledge covers countries representing nearly half of the global methane emissions and 70% of global GDP.
Methane Contribution to Global Warming
Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases after carbon dioxide. It adds to half of the warming the world experiences today. It has a higher heat-trapping potential than CO2 but breaks down in the atmosphere faster.
This also points to the fact that that cutting methane emissions can have a rapid impact on reducing global warming.
Impact of Cutting Methane emissions
According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, reducing human-caused methane, which accounts for more than half of all methane emissions, is one of the most effective ways of combatting climate change.
Additionally, according to the Global Methane Assessment report, by the ‘Climate and Clean Air Coalition’ (CCAC) and ‘the United Nations Environment Program’ (UNEP), reducing human-caused methane will prevent 255,000 premature deaths, 775,000 asthma-related hospital visits, 73 billion hours of lost labor from extreme heat, and 26 million tons of crop losses globally.
However, failing to do so will make it impossible for the 2015 Paris Agreement’s objective to limit the global rise in temperature to 1.5˚C.
Pakistan’s efforts for climate change
The signing of Global Methane Pledge reflects Pakistan’s commitment towards mitigating the impacts of climate change. In the run-up to COP26, Pakistan has also updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). According to this, Pakistan commits to
- Shifting to clean energy by converting 30% of the country’s transportation to electric vehicles by 2030
- Shifting 60% of all energy produced in the country to renewable sources by 2030.
Furthermore, the signing of Global Methane Pledge will also strengthen the US-Pakistan cooperation on climate change.
