UN: Countries are making tangible progress in reducing methane emissions

Steps and commitments to reduce methane emissions were discussed at the ministerial meeting held within the UNEP International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) at the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) hosted by Türkiye in Antalya.

In the statement made by UNEP, it was reported that countries have started to make concrete progress in reducing methane emissions.

In the statement, it was stated that the total reduction in methane emissions achieved by countries and oil and gas operators is equivalent to removing 26 million cars from traffic for a year, and it was shared that the number of member companies of the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 increased to 164.

In the statement, which stated that these companies represent 43 percent of global oil and natural gas production, the views of UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen were included.

Andersen stated that the global temperature increase is predicted to exceed 1.5 degrees, but the time when temperatures remain high should be limited as much as possible.

Noting that methane is the second gas that causes global warming after carbon dioxide, Andersen stated that reducing methane emissions acts as an emergency brake in slowing down warming since it remains in the atmosphere for a short time.

New data from UNEP's Coal Methane Database, which covers 250 major metallurgical coal mines and nearly half of global metallurgical coal production, reveals that 1.4 million tonnes of methane emissions could be reduced from these sources.