Speech by President von der Leyen on the launch of the Global Methane Pledge in Glasgow

What a pleasure to be here with you, Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

My fellow leaders,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When we talk about climate action, we look at two different horizons. There is one, of course, of climate neutrality by mid-century. But there is a second one, and that is the closer one, and this is much more urgent, and this is the horizon of 2030. We have to act now. We need big structural changes, yes, to reach 2050 climate neutrality. But we cannot wait for 2050. We have to cut emissions fast. And methane is one of the gases we can cut fastest. Doing that will immediately slow down climate change. Because we all know that methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. Roughly 30% of global warming since the industrial revolution is due to methane emissions. Methane is causing 80 times more global warming than CO2. Today, global methane emissions grow faster than at any time in the past. So cutting back on methane emissions is one of the most effective things we can do to reduce near-term global warming and keep 1.5 degrees Celsius. It is the lowest-hanging fruit.

On 17 September, when you, President Biden, dear Joe, hosted us for the Major Economies Forum, the European Union and the United States announced the Global Methane Pledge. Since then, our Climate Envoys, John Kerry i and Frans Timmermans i, have worked intensively, tirelessly to gather support. Today, just over six weeks later, we are officially launching our Methane Pledge. And we are proud and happy, and grateful that over 80 countries have signed up. This is fantastic, thanks to you. Together, these over 80 countries commit to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030, from 2020 levels on.

Methane emissions come from various sources, we all know: oil, gas, coal, agriculture, and landfills. These sectors have different potential for short-term action. The greatest potential for cuts is, without any doubt, in the energy sector. This is why, next month, us, the European Commission, we will propose to regulate methane emissions. We will introduce rules to measure, to report, to verify methane emissions, rules to put limits on venting and flaring, and rules to detect leaks and repair them. And of course our Common Agricultural Policy is also increasing its focus on tackling methane emissions.

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Fellow leaders,

The Global Methane Pledge makes ‘cutting on methane emissions' a collective undertaking. This must of course be supported by a sound scientific basis and a capacity to monitor and to calculate methane emissions. Because we all know that only what gets measured gets done. That is why the European Commission supports the set-up of an independent International Methane Emissions Observatory, through the UN Environment Programme.

But we also all know that as important as this Pledge is, it is about more than hitting targets. There are clear benefits to cutting methane emissions, yes for the planet, but also so much for the people, too. Because if we deliver on this Pledge, we can prevent over 200,000 premature deaths. We can prevent hundreds of thousands of asthma-related emergency room visits and over 20 million tons of crop losses a year by reducing ground-level ozone pollution.

I want to thank all those countries that have signed up to the Global Methane Pledge. With this global pledge, we are making COP26 the moment when the world moves from aspiration to action.