{"id":518304,"date":"2026-06-25T20:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T20:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/518304\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T20:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T20:24:14","slug":"un-chief-targeting-methane-is-a-climate-battle-we-can-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/518304\/","title":{"rendered":"UN chief: Targeting methane is a climate battle \u2018we can win\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe climate crisis is accelerating, and we are now on course to overshoot the 1.5\u00b0C limit in the coming years,\u201d UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a> told delegates at the super-pollutants reception during London Climate Action Week, which runs from 20 to 28 June.<\/p>\n

\u201cReducing methane is a fight we can win and benefit from in our own time,\u201d he said. \u201cOur task is to keep that overshoot as small, short and safe as possible and to bring temperatures back down. That can\u2019t happen without drastically reducing emissions, starting now, and accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels, starting now.\u201d<\/p>\n

To do so demands that the world move fast on super-pollutants, which are potent greenhouse gases behind nearly half the global warming to date.<\/p>\n

Existing tech can eliminate \u2018super super-pollutant\u2019 methane<\/p>\n

Invisible, odourless and driving nearly a third of current global warming, methane is the key ingredient in natural gas and \u201cis the super super-pollutant\u201d, the UN chief said, adding that, unlike carbon dioxide, it breaks down in a decade or two.<\/p>\n

\u201cCutting methane is the single fastest brake we can pull on a warming planet,\u201d he said, pointing to the newly launched global Call to Action on Methane<\/a>,<\/p>\n

The International Energy Agency finds that around 70 per cent of methane from oil and gas can be eliminated with existing technologies at low or no net cost, and thanks to satellites, \u201cwe can track methane pollution where it happens as it happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Age of voluntary action is over\u2019<\/p>\n

The UN chief set out three steps governments and industry can take towards tackling methane\u2019s negative effects:<\/p>\n

Detect and fix every leak and eliminate routine flaring and cold ventingMake emissions measurable, reportable and verifiableAdopt a science-based global methane standard and build a market for near-zero-methane energy<\/p>\n

\u201cCountries like Norway have already shown the way,\u201d he said. \u201cIf every producer matched its standards, methane from oil and gas would fall by 90 per cent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The world acted to heal the ozone layer and phase out leaded petrol and now, it must act on methane pollution, the UN chief said, emphasising that \u201cthe age of voluntary action is over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, more than 70 per cent of the reduction potential lies within the G20 and much of it within the fossil fuel sector, and \u201cthat is where we must zero in to zero out methane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Test of climate solidarity\u2019<\/p>\n

Developing countries need finance, technology and capacity to accelerate action across agriculture, waste and fossil fuels, the Secretary-General said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is also a test of climate solidarity,\u201d he declared, pledging that the UN will stand with every nation ready to act.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be the generation that pulls the climate emergency brake in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Financing climate action<\/p>\n

Elaborating on that theme at a related financing for development forum in London, the UN chief outlined ways to help countries along a greener path.<\/p>\n

The forum focused on unlocking the finance required to help countries transform and adapt to the climate crisis at a time when \u201cclimate adaptation is no longer about preparing for a distant future,\u201d Mr. Guterres said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about managing risks in real time as the searing heat now gripping London and far beyond makes unmistakably clear our climate is changing faster than our systems, our infrastructure and our institutions can handle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ensuring \u2018climate justice\u2019<\/p>\n

With the World Meteorological Organization (WMO<\/a>) confirming that the past 11 years have been the hottest on record and scientists expecting global temperatures to exceed 1.5\u00b0C in the coming years, he said \u201cwe\u2019re entering a new era of climate risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

As such, adaptation is a matter of \u201cclimate justice\u201d while also being an economic necessity and development and security imperative, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMultilateral development banks, climate funds, donors, insurers and development partners must join forces to put pre-arranged finance within reach of developing countries,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, let\u2019s ensure that resilience becomes the foundation for a safer, more secure and more sustainable future and that resources are made available for that to be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe climate crisis is accelerating, and we are now on course to overshoot the 1.5\u00b0C limit in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[246,61,60,82],"class_list":["post-518304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}