To mitigate climate crisis, countries around the world should team up to reduce methane emissions and stabilize global energy market in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden said on Friday on a meeting of more than 20 of the world’s top economies.
Meanwhile, Biden announced that the US, the European Union and other 11 countries have launched the ‘Global Methane Pledge Energy Pathway’ to catalyze methane emissions reductions.
China, Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, which will host COP27 in November, are among those attending Friday’s summit.
Biden stated that the US and the 27-nation bloc have taken the next stage in their global methane agreement to reduce emissions of the planet-warming gas by 30% by 2030. The energy pathway will focus on reducing methane emissions in the oil and gas sector by eliminating routine flaring in fossil fuel operations.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is roughly 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short run. According to climate scientists, limiting methane emissions is a vital yet simple step toward addressing the global crisis.
Biden said the project will raise US$90 billion to research and build innovative sustainable technologies to help the world decarbonize. The US will contribute US$21.5 billion to this effort, with funds already allocated in Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill.
He added that the new initiatives are part of the US’ overall efforts to strengthen energy security, reduce reliance on Russian gas, lower gas and energy prices, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
On top of the methane pledge, Biden also asked other countries to join his domestic aim of having half of all vehicles sold in the US be battery electric, fuel-cell electric, or plug-in hybrid by 2030.
Biden’s zero-emissions vehicle aim is not legally obligatory, and other economies are pursuing it more actively. For example, the European Parliament has voted earlier this month to support the ban on the sale of new cars with combustion engines from 2035.
