Global Methane Hub

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Global Methane Hub

Mission and Vision

From the Global Methane Hub website:

"We believe dramatic reduction of methane gas can protect people and the planet from the worst impacts of climate change — bringing direct social, health and economic benefits to communities, cities and countries that reduce emissions. Our vision is to collaborate with governmental and non-governmental entities to scale up cost-effective solutions in methane mitigation and contribute to transformational change in the energy, agricultural, and waste management sectors.

About

From the Global Methane Hub website:

"While many countries have methane reduction strategies in place, this will be the first coordinated approach to methane mitigation funding. We will move fast, be nimble and operate with ambition and vision.

The Hub will focus on the energy, agricultural, and waste sectors which account for 96% of human-caused methane emissions.

We will support ambitious catalytic investments, lay the groundwork for long-term transformation of challenging sectors, and also deliver quick wins in sectors that are ripe for action on the ground.

Our actions will be global in nature, based out of Santiago, Chile. We will focus on the highest emitting sectors and regions.

People

From the Global Methane Hub website:

• Marcelo Mena-Carrasco Ms. Phd., Chief Executive Officer
• Patty Rhee, Chief Partnerships Officer
• Alfonso Galarce, Chief Financial And Administrative Officer
• Alexander Ege, Program Director – Energy
• Carolina Urmeneta, Program Director – Circular Economy
• Hayden Montgomery, Program Director – Agriculture

John Kerry

John Kerry Tweet May 19 2023

On May 19, 2023, John Kerry tweeted: "Thrilled to join Chile, Brazil, Australia, and nine other countries in committing to reduce methane emissions from the agricultural sector. Agriculture is the largest contributor to global methane emissions today, and reducing methane emissions is essential to keep 1.5C within reach."

2023 Conference

Leaders from 20 countries, representing 50% of agricultural methane emissions at the First Ministerial Meeting on Lower Emission Food Systems, Santiago, Chile, April 2023.

From the Global Methane Hub website:

"Santiago, Chile – Today, the Global Methane Hub announced that agriculture and environment ministers and ambassadors from 13 countries, including the United States, have issued a commitment to reduce methane emissions in agriculture. Last month, the Global Methane Hub collaborated with the Ministries of Agriculture of Chile and Spain to convene the first-ever global ministerial on agricultural practices to reduce methane emissions. The ministerial brought together high-ranking government members to share global perspectives on methane reduction and low-emission food systems. The gathering led to a statement in which the nations committed to support efforts to improve the quality and quantity of, and access to, finance for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in the agriculture and food sectors and to collaborate on efforts aimed at lowering methane emissions in agriculture and food systems.

The focus of the conference was the deployment of science-based practices, innovation, and technologies in line with sustainable food production, food security, food loss, waste reduction and recovery. The event collaborators included The Global Methane Hub, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Climate & Clean Air Coalition, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, World Bank, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

“Food systems are responsible for 60% of methane emissions. We congratulate countries willing to take the lead in food systems methane mitigation and confirm our commitment to support this type of initiative with programs that explore promising methane mitigation technologies and the underpinning research of methane mitigation mechanisms to create new technologies,” said Marcelo Mena, CEO of Global Methane Hub.

“Mitigating methane is the fastest way to reduce warming in the short term. Food and agriculture can contribute to a low-methane future by improving farmer productivity and resilience. We welcome agriculture ministers participating in the implementation of the Global Methane Pledge,” said John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.

“We are very pleased that the countries that participated in the conference committed to good practices in livestock not only to adapt to climate change but also to mitigate methane emissions. This includes countries from five continents and most of the major cattle-producing countries of the west of the world,” said Esteban Valenzuela, Chile’s Agricultural Minister.

“I am glad to see the shared commitment by the international community to mitigate methane emissions from agriculture as a means to achieve the goals we signed for in the Paris Agreement on climate. To that aim we must promote investments and transfer of knowledge at farm level to put in practice the best available techniques that allow farmers to curb the emissions and to strengthen their resilience and adaptation to climate change.” said Luis Planas, Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

The statement focuses on how to optimize public-private collaboration, enhance private investment, actively promote innovative solutions that are adapted locally, and promote the exchange of international experience and knowledge, while considering elements of circular economy, just transition, and inclusive decision-making.

The methane mitigation-related principles and commitments were first announced and presented at the Aim for Climate Summit by Chile and Spain, with high-level representatives from Australia and Panama, and the special participation of U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. The countries subscribing to the statement are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Panama, Peru, Spain, the United States, and Uruguay.

The government of Spain will organize a second conference in 2024 to monitor and advance implementation efforts related to the statement and encourage more countries to join.

The Statement

Excerpt from the statement referenced above:

"To advance the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, it is necessary to accelerate actions to identify and implement solutions that promote food security and food loss and waste reduction in an increasingly challenging context, and at the same time, move towards sustainable agriculture and enhance the role of agriculture in its contribution to climate change mitigation.

[...]

"...we the ministers of agriculture and heads of delegation from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Panama, Peru, Spain, United States and Uruguay, COMMIT TO:

1. Facilitate and promote the enabling conditions for the deployment of science-based practices, innovation, and technologies in line with sustainable food production and agriculture through the design and implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation policies.

2. Pursue efforts to mitigate climate change in agriculture and food systems, in accordance with the Paris Agreement, without affecting food security.

3. Work to embed agriculture and food into national climate processes, including increasing ambition in accordance with national priorities and necessities, building on existing commitments and updating Nationally Determined Contributions of the Paris Agreement. Strengthen commitment to accountability based on the Biennial Transparency Report (BTR), provided that robust and internationally recognized methods for emission reduction, measurement and accounting are available.

4. Consider developing national adaptation and mitigation plans for the agricultural sector, and strengthen existing ones, taking advantage of successful experiences, and existing evidence, recognizing the three dimensions of sustainability and the role of innovation hubs in the sector.

5. Foster climate actions in the livestock sector, through innovative interventions and policies that encourage the implementation of practices compatible with emissions efficient livestock systems, while recognizing and promoting the contribution of livestock to food security, nutrition, biodiversity, the livelihoods of farmers and the maintenance and improvement of soil health.

6. Evaluate the current state of public policies and investments in the sector and, where appropriate, redirect efforts to enhance innovation and support more sustainable agriculture, considering elements of circular economy, just transition, and inclusive decision-making.

7. Support initiatives aimed at reducing methane emissions and emissions intensity in agriculture and food systems according to their national goals, including public-private collaboration, crowding in private investment, actively promoting innovative solutions adapted locally, and promoting the exchange of international experience and knowledge, in particular through the development and implementation of BATs [Best Available Techniques] for emission reduction.

8. Avoiding duplication of effort and working to strengthen existing arrangements and processes, support efforts to improve the quality and quantity of, and access to, finance for climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture and food.

9. Work from multilateral spaces, and within the framework of the UNFCCC, to effectively materialize the access of developing regions to agile sources of financing in accordance with their needs to implement their climate commitments. Methane reduction actions could be enhanced by effective access to finance tools.

10.Continue collaborating globally and in other international forums to address the main challenges posed by the climate crisis in the sector, respecting national priorities and commitments, which are, together with international free trade, essential to ensuring food security.

2022 Report

From the 2022 Global Methane Hub Annual Impact Report:

As the Hub grows in size, we also grow in support and expertise. With positions across Chile, Uruguay, Denmark, Ghana, Senegal, New Zealand, and the United States, we are able to use our combined networks and knowledge to achieve our objectives. In the next six months, we will be adding to the team to establish adequate global coverage. We are also adding support staff to ensure speedy delivery of grants and learning from our partners.

With the added capacity, we will be able to broaden the scope of our work and its impact by supporting governments, environmental organizations, and local communities in making a change on methane.