Belém, Brazil – During the COP30 conference, the UN and Climate and Clean Air Coalition published an assessment of the global effort to reduce methane emissions revealing a rise rather than reduction in global methane emissions. The European Environmental Bureau (the EU’s largest network of environmental NGOs) warns that without stronger commitments from governments to tackle these emissions – especially in the food and farming sector – the consequences of climate breakdown will be felt at an even faster rate. 

Warming has for the first time breached the 1.5°C limit outlined in the Paris Agreement and the world recently passed its first tipping point – with dire consequences for warm coral reefs. Despite the urgency to action now, the report shows that without stronger policies methane, a potent heat-trapping gas, is projected to increase by 5% by 2030, and 21% by 2050, compared with 2020 levels. 

Luc Powell, Senior Policy Officer for Air Quality and Agriculture at the EEB, said: “Cutting methane emissions is the most powerful lever we have to slow warming this decade. Yet no progress has been made. Moreover, the persistent downplaying of the agri-food sectors responsibility (as the largest emitter) remains deeply alarming.” 

The report highlights the multiple decisive and cost-effective opportunities that remain largely unexploited, yet shied away from pointing to non-technical measures, including dietary shift, a reflection of the strong political forces still at play. Agriculture is responsible for the largest share of methane emissions globally and in the EU it remains one of the least regulated sectors.  

The EEB urges countries to provide strong leadership on food-system reform, including support for reducing high-emitting farmed animal production and enabling shifts toward healthier, more sustainable diets. 

Rapid and comprehensive action on methane is the most effective tool the world has to slow warming this decade. The EEB urges countries to at least honour their commitment to the Global Methane Pledge and reverse this concerning trajectory.  

ENDS

Photo by Harrison Moore on Unsplash