Project and Partners
A consortium of European non-governmental organisations working across the sectors to secure emission reduction targets.
Project Introduction
The Methane Matters Coalition is a consortium of experienced European non-governmental organisations working across the agriculture, waste and energy sectors to secure emission reduction targets. The project will work to catalyse EU leadership in the implementation of the Global Methane Pledge (GMP), advocating for additional mitigation measures, strong enforcement of existing regulatory frameworks, and the adoption of national action plans implementing the GMP in key European countries.
The project benefits from a favourable window of opportunity. Relevant EU policies and directives are due for revision, among them the National Emission Ceiling (NEC) Directive or the Waste Framework Directive, which present important opportunities to introduce targets and measures to cut methane emissions into EU regulatory frameworks.
Additionally, post-2030 EU climate targets, governance, and other aspects, as well as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the cornerstone shaping agricultural practices across the EU, will enter a reform cycle immediately after the elections, presenting a unique opportunity to align these instruments with the EU’s methane reduction commitments. Furthermore, we want to use the lessons learned, from both the successes and challenges we have faced during this project and the work done before, to influence and ensure good mitigation models for methane from the waste sector are implemented in partner global south cities. We will build and create effective channels for peer-to-peer learning to evolve between city officials from around the world, with the consortium partners working on waste, enabling the piloting of new methodologies and tools being developed in the global south by GMH partners. The project also aims to increase ambition and secure global actions for methane reduction by engaging leaders among EU countries and institutions to champion the implementation of the Global Methane Pledge, ensuring greater transparency over processes and progress by signatories, engagement with CSOs, and enforcement of methane monitoring and mitigation measures.
The consortium will work at a critical intersection between the EU and the national level, leveraging action at strategic moments to place methane mitigation at the heart of the political, climate, and environmental agenda. The consortium itself will be an informal constellation of key NGOs already active in addressing methane pollution in the three major sectors: agriculture, waste and energy. The project is financed by the Global Methane Hub.
Image Credits:
1 Intro image: Jay Mantri on Unsplash
Consortium
Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (DUH)
Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (DUH) is an independent, non profit environmental protection organization founded in 1975. DUH is active in the fields of nature conservation, transport and air quality, climate change and energy transition, recycling, and consumer protection.
DUH successfully uses the opportunity of legal action to protect the environment and the climate. DUH has been working for many years in the area of air quality and climate emission mitigation and has coordinated several pan-European campaigns and projects on these issues. When it comes to methane emissions from agriculture and gas, DUH has been able to position itself as one of the leading NGOs in recent years—both at the national and European levels. Through expertise and science based recommendations, we were able to raise awareness about methane emissions and their impact on human health and climate and bring the issue into the public and political debate.
Changing Markets Foundation (CMF)
The Changing Markets Foundation (CMF) was formed to accelerate and scale up solutions to sustainability challenges by leveraging the power of markets. Working in partnership with NGOs, other foundations and research organizations, CMF creates and supports campaigns that shift market share away from unsustainable products and companies towards environmentally and socially beneficial solutions.
If we do so at scale, we can create a self-reinforcing accelerating loop of positive change in global markets—change defined by the most sustainability-focused companies succeeding and forcing others to follow their lead. In their short existence, CMF has achieved a transformation of the viscose industry, which thanks to their investigations invested in factory upgrades to stop pollution. CMF has achieved victories in food campaigns in Mexico and the European Union and has convinced the largest baby formula producer, Nestlé, to drop the unhealthiest ingredients from its global range. CMF has also leveraged campaigning and investigative work on plastic pollution to force several large companies to stop blocking the implementation of deposit return schemes in Europe. Within the campaign, CMF will also coordinate partners working on private sector campaigns and engagement—especially with food companies, but also with wider investor work.
European Environmental Bureau (EEB)
The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) is the largest network of environmental citizens’ organizations in Europe. It currently consists of over 180 member organizations in 40 countries, including a growing number of networks, and represents some 30 million individual members and supporters.
It was created in 1974 and covers a broad range of topics, which makes its systemic approach quite unique. It is very well known for its work on agriculture but also air quality. Through its thematic Working Groups, regularly gathering together experts from around Europe and beyond, EEB is coordinating NGOs action in Europe, identifying advocacy strategies to be implemented in parallel in Brussels and at Member States level and representing civil society demands in front of the EU institutions. EEB is a member of the Green10 (grouping the biggest and most influential Environmental NGOs in Europe) and of several existing task forces focusing on agriculture policies. EEB also leads key actions at international level and engages in key international forums such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). In the campaign, EEB will coordinate the partners working on agriculture.
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA-UK)
Our climate campaign aims to avert climate catastrophe by strengthening and enforcing regional and international agreements that tackle climate super-pollutants, including ozone-depleting substances, hydrofluorocarbons and methane, and advocating corporate and policy measures to promote the transition to sustainable alternatives.
EIA has been a leading voice in the fight to reduce emissions of super-pollutant greenhouse gases, leading several successful civil society campaigns to secure ambitious measures at the European Union and international level and regularly engages national authorities and international agencies on implementation, compliance, and enforcement. Within the campaign, EIA will coordinate partners working on energy and would conduct the UK activities as described in the concept note.
Our climate campaign aims to avert climate catastrophe by strengthening and enforcing regional and international agreements that tackle climate super-pollutants, including ozone-depleting substances, hydrofluorocarbons and methane, and advocating corporate and policy measures to promote the transition to sustainable alternatives. EIA has been a leading voice in the fight to reduce emissions of super-pollutant greenhouse gases, leading several successful civil society campaigns to secure ambitious measures at the European Union and international level and regularly engages national authorities and international agencies on implementation, compliance, and enforcement. Within the campaign, EIA will coordinate partners working on energy and would conduct the UK activities as described in the concept note.
Zero Waste Europe (ZWE)
Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) is a European network of communities, local leaders, experts, and change agents working towards the prevention and elimination of waste in our society.
ZWE advocates for sustainable systems, for the redesign of our relationship with resources, and for a global shift towards environmental justice, accelerating a just transition towards zero waste for the benefit of people and the planet. ZWE combines a bottom-up approach, working with nearly 500 municipalities as part of the Zero Waste Cities programme, together with a top-down approach. ZWE utilizes their expertise to advocate for ambitious EU policies on the circular economy and zero pollution agendas. Within the campaign, ZWE will be the responsible coordinator for partners working in the waste sector.