In response to a US and EU-led pledge to cut global methane emissions by 30 percent from their 2020 levels by 2030, Juan Pablo Osornio, Head of the Greenpeace Delegation at COP26, said:
“This initiative needs to be the start and not the finish of the ambition on cutting this potent greenhouse gas, which has 28 times the warming potential of CO2.
“The radical reductions we actually need can’t be achieved by tinkering around the edges.
“The IPCC says we need to cut all emissions in half by 2030 if we hope to keep global temperature rises within 1.5C. If we drastically slash fossil fuels we’d cut methane and carbon emissions at the same time, and have a much better chance of meeting that goal.
“And by not including meat reduction or pledges to change people’s diets in this commitment, governments are giving a free pass to Big Agriculture.
“All roads end up pointing to the need to eliminate fossil fuels from our energy system and phasing out industrial meat and dairy from our diets as soon as possible. This announcement dodges what’s needed.”
