Global Methane Pledge (2021)

The Global Methane Pledge is a promise made by a group of countries to reduce the world's methane emissions caused by human activity by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. It was launched at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow (United Kingdom) in November 2021, led by the United States and the European Union. It is a voluntary promise, not a legally binding treaty. India has not joined it.

Why does it exist?

Carbon dioxide gets most of the attention in climate talks, but methane is the second biggest cause of global warming caused by humans. Methane has two special features:

• It is very strong: over 100 years, a tonne of methane traps about 27 to 30 times more heat than a tonne of carbon dioxide. Over 20 years, it is about 80 times stronger.
• It is short-lived: it breaks down in the air in about 12 years, while carbon dioxide stays for centuries.

Put together, this means cutting methane today slows warming quickly, within a decade or two. Think of it like a hot stove: cutting carbon dioxide is like slowly turning down the main flame, while cutting methane is like quickly removing a burner. That is why methane is called the "fastest lever" to keep the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement within reach.

Where did it come from?

In May 2021, the Global Methane Assessment by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) found that cutting human-caused methane by about 45% by 2030 could avoid nearly 0.3°C of warming by the 2040s. It also said such cuts would prevent about 2.6 lakh early deaths and about 25 million tonnes of crop losses every year, because methane helps form ground-level ozone, a harmful air pollutant.

Building on this, the US and EU announced the pledge in September 2021 and formally launched it at COP26 on 2 November 2021, with over 100 countries joining at the start.

How does it work?

• Each country that joins promises to help cut global methane by 30% by 2030 (from 2020 levels). It is a collective target: each country does not have to cut exactly 30%.
• Countries are encouraged to use the best methods to measure their methane emissions (especially through IPCC "Tier 2" or better methods, which use country-specific data rather than world averages).
• The biggest and cheapest cuts are in the energy sector: stopping leaks from oil and gas pipelines and wells, and ending "venting" and "flaring" (deliberately releasing or burning gas). Other cuts come from waste (landfills) and agriculture (livestock and rice).
• The pledge is supported by the CCAC and UNEP. Progress is tracked through reports such as UNEP's Global Methane Status Report.

The key facts

• Target: at least 30% cut in global human-caused methane from 2020 levels by 2030.
• Membership: as of April 2025, 159 countries plus the European Commission had joined, together covering about 57% of global human-caused methane emissions.
• Status: The first Global Methane Status Report, released at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, found the world is off track. Human-caused methane was about 352 million tonnes in 2020 and, under current laws, is projected to reach about 369 million tonnes by 2030 (about 5% higher, not 30% lower).
• Main sources of human methane: agriculture (livestock digestion, manure and rice), fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal mining) and waste (landfills and sewage). Agriculture is the largest single source worldwide.

India's position and Indian examples

India is among the world's top methane emitters, along with China and Russia, and none of the three has joined the pledge. A UNEP analysis put India's methane emissions at about 31 million tonnes in 2020, about 9% of the world's total, with roughly two-thirds from agriculture. India's main methane sources are livestock (cattle and buffalo digestion, called enteric fermentation) and rice paddies. India's reasons for not joining are:

• "Survival emissions, not luxury emissions": Methane from Indian farms comes from small and marginal farmers growing food and keeping a few animals. The government has told Parliament that these emissions support food security and livelihoods, unlike emissions from luxury consumption in rich countries.
• Livelihoods: About 8 crore rural households depend on dairy, and India is the world's largest milk producer. Rice is a staple and a major export.
• Outside the UN process: India has said the pledge is outside the framework of the UN climate convention (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, where each country decides its own Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
• Low per-head share: Indian livestock mostly eat crop leftovers and by-products, and India argues its contribution per animal and per person is low.

India still acts on methane in other ways. It joined the Climate and Clean Air Coalition in July 2019 as its 65th partner. Schemes like SATAT and GOBARdhan turn waste and cow dung into biogas, capturing methane as fuel. Practices like AWD and Direct Seeded Rice are promoted for water saving, which also cuts methane.

India's updated NDC (August 2022) targets a 45% cut in emissions intensity of GDP from 2005 levels by 2030 and about 50% of installed power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030, but has no separate methane target.

Commonly confused concepts

• Global Methane Pledge vs Paris Agreement: The Paris Agreement (2015) is a legally binding treaty under the UNFCCC that covers all greenhouse gases; each country sets its own NDC. The Methane Pledge is a voluntary political promise about one gas, made outside the formal treaty.
• Global Methane Pledge vs Kigali Amendment: The Kigali Amendment (2016) to the Montreal Protocol is a legally binding deal to phase down HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons, gases used in ACs and fridges). India has ratified it. The Methane Pledge covers methane and is not binding.
• Global Methane Pledge vs Climate and Clean Air Coalition: The CCAC (set up in 2012, hosted by UNEP) is a partnership working on all short-lived climate pollutants: methane, black carbon (soot), HFCs and ground-level ozone. India is a CCAC partner but not a pledge member.
• GWP-100 vs GWP-20: The same gas gets different scores over different time spans. Methane is about 27 to 30 over 100 years, and about 80 over 20 years. Paris Agreement reporting uses the 100-year figure.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Off track: Emissions are still rising, so the 30% target by 2030 is at risk.
• Equity: Developing countries argue that farm methane from poor farmers should not be treated the same as fossil-fuel methane from oil and gas companies.
• Measurement gaps: Many countries still use rough estimates. Satellites now detect large methane leaks, but farm emissions are hard to measure field by field.
• Cheap solutions exist: UNEP says a large share of the needed cuts can be done at low cost, especially by fixing oil and gas leaks.
• Way forward suggested by experts: fix leaks in the energy sector first; capture landfill and dung methane as biogas; spread low-methane rice methods like AWD and DSR with incentives; improve cattle feed; and give developing countries money and technology.

Concepts to Know

• COP (Conference of the Parties): The yearly meeting of all countries that are members of the UN climate convention (UNFCCC). COP26 was held in Glasgow in 2021.
• Short-lived climate pollutants: Gases and particles that warm the planet but stay in the air only for days to a few decades, like methane, black carbon and HFCs. Cutting them slows warming quickly.
• Enteric fermentation: The digestion process in the stomachs of cows, buffaloes, sheep and goats, where microbes break down grass and release methane, mostly through burping.
• Ground-level ozone: Ozone formed near the ground from pollutants, including methane. Unlike the protective ozone layer high up, it harms lungs and damages crops.
• Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC): Each country's own climate action plan under the Paris Agreement.
• Emissions intensity of GDP: The amount of greenhouse gas released for every unit of economic output. A country can grow while lowering this number.