Energy Gang

Bonus episode from COP29: Getting real about methane emissions

Dec 10, 2024

Henrique Bezerra, Regional lead for Latin America at the Global Methane Hub, and Bjorn Otto Sverdrup, Chair of the executive committee for the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, discuss the pressing issue of methane emissions. They explore the ambitious Global Methane Pledge aimed at a 30% reduction by 2030 but reveal the rising levels of emissions instead. The conversation highlights the urgency of innovation and collaboration across sectors like oil and gas, as well as the need for transparency and accountability to meet climate goals. Practical solutions are essential to reverse this trend.

36:41

Episode guests

Bjørn Otto Sverdrup

Henrique Bezerra

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The Global Methane Pledge, endorsed by 111 countries, aims for a 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030, yet emissions have increased instead of declining.

Successful methane reduction strategies require better quantification technologies and collaborative efforts across sectors, alongside significant financing and regulatory support from wealthier nations.

Deep dives

The Importance of Methane Reduction

Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas, contributing around 30% of human-induced global warming since pre-industrial times. It is primarily emitted from the oil and gas, agriculture, and waste sectors, particularly given its prevalence in natural gas. To address methane emissions effectively, there's a compelling need for better quantification and monitoring technologies, as much of the emissions are invisible. The ongoing global methane pledge aims for a 30% reduction by 2030, but actual emissions have continued to rise, emphasizing the urgency of effective action.

Intro

2min

Methane Emissions: Progress and Challenges

11min

Climate Finance at COP29

6min

Accountability and Engagement in Methane Emissions

2min

Global Methane Hub and Emission Challenges

7min

Tackling Methane Emissions by 2030

8min

More than 100 countries have pledged to cut methane emissions, with not much to show for it so far. What is being done to change that?

Methane – the main component of natural gas – is the second most significant greenhouse gas, after carbon dioxide. It accounts for about 30% of all the human-induced warming the world has experienced since the 19th century.

At COP26 in 2021, many countries got together to launch the Global Methane Pledge, to drive action on reducing emissions. There are now 111 countries, accounting in total for almost half of global methane emissions, that have signed up to that pledge. Their goal is to reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030.

So how much progress has been made in the past few years? Not a lot, is the answer. Instead of starting to decline to meet that targeted 30% reduction, methane emissions have actually been going up.

At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, last month, methane was one of the key items on the agenda. Many people there were talking about ideas for bending the curve, to get methane emissions heading in the right direction at last.

While he was at the conference, host Ed Crooks talked to Henrique Bezerra, the regional lead for Latin America for the Global Methane Hub. That's an organization backed by philanthropic money that works on practical projects to cut methane emissions. Henrique discusses the options available to tackle the problem.

Ed also talked to a key figure working to change one of the largest sources of methane emissions: the global oil and gas industry. Bjorn Otto Sverdrup is the chair of the executive committee for the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, a group backed by 12 big international oil and gas companies that works on reducing emissions.

He's also the head of the secretariat for a larger group that has signed up for the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter. That includes more than 50 big oil and gas groups, including many leading national oil companies from emerging economies, that have pledged to work together to reach net zero emissions from their operations by 2050.

What are companies really doing to cut emissions? What strategies and technologies can help detect and prevent leaks of methane? And how can carbon markets play in role in reducing emissions? Ed and his guests discuss those questions, and assess whether their efforts will start to pay off in time to hit the goals that so many countries have set.

This episode is brought to you by Enbridge. Listen to Enbridge and GZERO’s podcast Energized: The Future of Energy at GZEROmedia.com/theenergygang

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.