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Cutting methane emissions in Europe and increasing European global leadership in methane mitigation
Our Proposition
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The Methane Matters coalition of experienced European non-governmental organizations aims to significantly reduce methane emissions in the relevant agriculture, waste and energy sectors by 2030 and, at the same time, strengthen the EU’s leadership role in implementing the global methane commitment.
Methane (CH4) is a colourless and odourless gas and occurs in nature as the main component of natural gas, on the seabed and in permafrost, as well as in swamps and bogs. It is produced by natural and anthropogenic biological processes during the decomposition or fermentation of organic material. Methane is a Short-Lived Climate Pollutant (SLCP) and warms the planet over 80 times more than CO2 over a 20-year period. More than half of global methane emissions are caused by humans, primarily through agriculture (animal husbandry, land use), the waste sector (landfills and wastewater) and the energy sector (extraction and transport of fossil fuels), which have already contributed to a gross temperature increase of 0.5°C.1
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1 Intro: Aerial-Drone on Adobe Stock
2 Intro: Pavel Losevsky on Adobe Stock
3 Intro: Ralf Geithe on Adobe Stock
4 Intro: PRILL Mediendesign on Adobe Stock
5 Intro: Sergbob on Adobe Stock
Main Sources of Methane Emission
The agricultural sector is responsible for around 54 per cent of all man-made methane emissions in the EU. There are already a number of cost-effective and immediately implementable solutions to reduce emissions. These include switching to a healthier and more sustainable diet, as well as reduced and improved consumption of meat and dairy products and technical measures in livestock farming.
The waste sector is the second largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions in the EU and contributes to around 27 per cent of all such emissions. The main strategies to reduce solid waste emissions are reduction, source separation and treatment of organic waste.
Around 20 per cent of global methane emissions are produced during the processing of gas, the extraction and processing of crude oil and coal and by fossil gas used in the petrochemical industry for the production of plastics. At EU level, excluding emissions associated with EU imports of oil, gas and coal, the figure is 17 per cent. However, a new analysis by the IEA shows that methane emissions from the energy sector are around 70 per cent higher than previously assumed.
Selected News and Releases
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Curbing methane emissions has been described as ‘the strongest lever we can pull quickly to reduce warming by 2050’. Current financing models are simply not capitalising on this crucial opportunity to stay within the 1.5°C limit. The establishment of a dedicated methane fund, managed by the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund, would provide the essential financial backbone for realising lasting change. Why wait when the obvious solutions are on the table.
A recent article from our partners in Sweden, Airclim, looks at the widespread damage that ozone is causing to agricultural crops – and it’s no small matter. According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), global crop losses due to ozone damage between 2010 and 2012 for the four staple crops of soya, wheat, rice and maize were estimated to total 227 million tonnes, with a significant impact on both local economies and global food security. This is another important reason to reduce methane emissions, which are an important precursor to ozone.
The Methane Matters Coalition, along with the Clean Air Task Force and the Environmental Defense Fund support the Methane Abatement Roadmap launched by the European Commission at COP29 and commented: ‘Methane emissions from fossil fuels need to fall by 75% by 2030 to stay within the 1.5°C limit. The tools to cut these emissions are available, yet progress remains limited. Stakeholders across the supply chain need to prioritise methane abatement and build the necessary coordination, regulations, and financing. The Methane Abatement Partnership Roadmap establishes a critical framework for aligning ambitions between importers and exporters to jointly address systemic barriers obstructing methane abatement. While this roadmap is an essential first step, signatories must commit to decisive action. As civil society organisations, we welcome the European Commission’s initiative and will judge its success by measurable results.’
DUH measures significant increase in methane concentrations around biogas plants and other diffuse sources. Germany’s methane emissions are probably much higher than officially reported. In addition to comprehensive monitoring of all relevant sources and immediate measures against leaks, DUH is calling on the German government to develop a national methane strategy with a specific reduction target and reduction measures in all sectors.
A binding and ambitious emissions reduction target for climate pollutants for the agricultural sector that is in line with the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement is essential. In order to achieve this, a fundamental change to the common agricultural policy is required, which must be accompanied by additional instruments such as the pricing of emissions. This new report shows how this can be achieved.
While methane has received significant attention from international institutions and the EU, much more needs to be done across sectors. In particular, in sectors such as waste and agriculture, which remain largely unregulated in terms of methane emissions, we must aim to achieve the same progress as the EU’s methane regulation for the energy sector. We need to maintain and reinforce these steps and ensure ambitious implementation at national level. It’s also important to remember that reducing methane emissions is not just about tackling climate change. There are multiple co-benefits, including improved air quality, better health outcomes, enhanced biodiversity, water conservation and increased food security.
Don’t miss this chance to contribute to Europe’s methane reduction efforts!
Changing Markets was at New York Climate Week as a member of the MMC and spoke about the narratives that Big Meat and Dairy Industry want you to believe in order to maintain the status quo. Can you tell fakes from facts? We dove into the strategies together and exchanged truths about Big Agri Companies. A purposeful discussion led to great results on the one hand and encouraged further efforts to reduce methane from agriculture on the other.
Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas (GHG), around 80 times more powerful than carbon- dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year period, and is responsible for a third of the global warming experienced to date.
Methane’s short lifespan makes it an attractive target for reducing climate warming quickly. Reducing human-caused methane emissions by up to 45% within a decade could prevent nearly 0.3°C of global warming by 2045 according to UNEP. This would support limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C, aligning with the Paris Agreement goal and prevent health issues and premature deaths from ground-level ozone (air pollution). In addition, global crop yields could increase by more than 25 million tonnes per year.
Global waste management is fraught with challenges, particularly concerning methane emissions from landfills. In 2020, over 2.1 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) were generated, with 62% managed at controlled facilities, and nearly half of this landfilled. With 2.7 billion people lacking waste collection services, the remaining 38% was handled in an uncontrolled manner. Methane, a potent short-term greenhouse gas, is a significant byproduct of landfilling biodegradable waste, contributing substantially to global warming.
Brussels, 19 Juni 2024: The Council of the EU has favoured the treatment of textile waste in its position on the Waste Framework Directive, while breaking its promise to reduce food waste,the environmental network Zero Waste Europe says. This marks another milestone in the file’s legislative process to hold textile producers accountable to the ‘polluter pays’ principle. […]
Berlin, 10 April 2024: Climate-damaging methane emissions from opencast lignite mining in Germany are massively underestimated by the responsible regulatory authorities and in the German government’s greenhouse gas inventories and projection reports. […]
The vote in the European Parliament yesterday signalled victory for lawmakers seeking to hold textile producers accountable to cover the costs for the waste their products generate. […]
Members of the European Parliament voted on the Waste Framework Directive to raise legally-binding food waste reduction targets to 20% for processing and manufacturing, and 40% for retail, restaurants, and households. […]
The International Energy Agency (IEA) today presented the latest data on methane emissions with the annual update of the “Global Methane Tracker”. […]
Ahead of the EU bio-waste separate collection mandate in January 2024, Life Biobest’s Deliverable 5.2 identifies the gaps in the regulatory framework and systemic barriers obstructing efficient bio-waste management with high capture rates of high-quality material. […]
Released for public dissemination by the Life Biobest project, this report consists of a homogenised dataset on municipal bio-waste management. Originating from an investigation into the current status of data collection and reporting in the European Union, the publication contains data on basic information and boundary conditions for bio-waste collection and treatment for nearly all 27 EU Member States […]
We, a coalition of non-profit organisations working on methane mitigation, are writing in response to the recent communication on Europe’s 2040 climate target and path to climate neutrality by 2050 building a sustainable, just, and prosperous society. While we welcome the ambitious target of a net reduction of greenhouse gas by 90%, we are concerned at the removal of the proposed 30% reduction target for non-C02 emissions […]
65 non-profit and business organisations from 22 EU countries call on the European Parliament to introduce ambitious, legally binding targets to halve food waste by 2030 in the ongoing revision of the EU Waste Framework Directive (WFD). […]
Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas (GHG), in excess of 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year period. About 60 per cent of methane emissions come from human activities in the agriculture (40 per cent), energy (35 per cent) and waste sectors (20 per cent). […]
Recognizing that, in order to ensure that the global community meets the Paris Agreement goal of keeping warming well below 2°C, while pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C, significant methane emission reductions must be achieved globally by 2030. […]
In an age where information flows freely, misinformation is a potent force that can shape public perception and influence elections, corporate and political decisions. This study is a deep dive into information and misinformation on social media around production and consumption of animal products. […]
Addressing methane emissions is essential to limiting the impacts of the climate crisis and keeping the global temperature increase under 1.5°C, as set out in the Paris Agreement. Methane has extremely powerful effects on the climate in the short term, so cutting methane emissions now represents our best chance to put a brake on temperature rises […]
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