Methane is the second leading driver of climate change, 80 times more warming as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over the near term1. Potent as it may be, methane also leaves the atmosphere after about 12 years. This makes it possible to see an almost immediate benefit to cuts in emissions, which is something everyone on Earth can benefit from2.

Reducing methane emissions is "one of the most cost-effective strategies to rapidly reduce the rate of warming and contribute significantly to global efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius," the United Nations noted in their May 2021 report, "Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions3."

In 2016 the U.S., Canada and Mexico worked out a collective deal to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 45% by 2025. When the Trump administration rolled back U.S. methane regulations, the international effort fell apart4. 

In 2021, Biden reversed the previous measures, restoring the Obama-era methane regulations5.

The U.N. has called for a 45% cut in methane emissions below a 2030 business-as-usual baseline6. Several world leaders have called this out as drastic, though necessary, as it would reduce annual warming by nearly 0.3 degrees Celsius by the 2040s, while mitigating threats to human health and food crops.

Once-stalled international action to reduce methane emissions is starting to grow, as well. The Meeting of the Major Economies on Energy and Climate, which took place at the White House included leaders from Argentina, Indonesia, Mexico, the United Kingdom and others who have also declared their intention to join the Global Methane Pledge7.

Early supporters of the Pledge include six of the top 15 methane emitters globally, together accounting for over one-fifth of global methane emissions and nearly half of the global economy, the White House press reported7.

With the cooperation of governments around the world, methane outputs can be reduced, thereby diverting the impending threats of climate change. If we work together, we can give our planet and the people on it a chance to breathe.

Sign the petition below and show your support for the International Methane Pledge

More on this issue:

1. Environmental Defense Fund (2021), "Methane: A crucial opportunity in the climate fight."
2. Phil McKenna, Inside Climate News (20 September 2021), "Global Methane Pledge Offers Hope on Climate in Lead Up to Glasgow."
3. Climate & Clean Air Coalition, UN Environment Programme (6 May 2021), "Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions."
4. John H. Cushman Jr., Inside Climate News (10 March 2016), "Sea Change: U.S. and Canada Announce Common Goals on Climate, Energy and the Arctic."
5. Kate Sullivan, CNN (30 June 2021), "Biden signs bill repealing Trump-era EPA rule on methane emissions."
6. Jasmin Melvin, Maya Weber, S&P Global Platts (17 September 2021), "US touts new global methane pledge, rallies support for slashing emissions."
7. The White House (17 September 2021), "Meeting of the Major Economies on Energy and Climate September 17, 2021: Chair's Summary."