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COP27: 'Global Methane Pledge' Announces Pathway to Reduce Agriculture Emissions

US climate envoy John Kerry during the announcement of the methane reduction pathway. (AP)
US climate envoy John Kerry during the announcement of the methane reduction pathway. (AP)
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COP27: 'Global Methane Pledge' Announces Pathway to Reduce Agriculture Emissions

US climate envoy John Kerry during the announcement of the methane reduction pathway. (AP)
US climate envoy John Kerry during the announcement of the methane reduction pathway. (AP)

The Global Pledge on Methane announced a pathway to reduce methane emissions in agriculture during Solutions Day at the UN Climate Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The global pledge on methane was discussed during a meeting between US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on September 17, 2021, at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF).

The Global Methane Pledge was an initiative launched at the World Leaders Summit at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November in Glasgow, United Kingdom.

The US-European initiative seeks to reduce methane emissions in all sectors by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030, which could reduce warming by at least 0.2 degrees Celsius by 2050.

The new GMP Food and Agriculture Pathway launched Thursday laid out a set of tools that will be used to help the sector reduce emissions.

According to a US State Department statement, the Green Climate Fund, in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Global Dairy Platform, and Global Methane Hub, approved $3.5 million of project preparation funding that will help transition dairy systems to lower emission, resilient climate pathways in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

IFAD and the US announced a partnership to advance climate resilience and methane mitigation with smallholder farmers, including by prioritizing methane mitigation in IFAD’s pipeline of country and regional projects with a combined investment of over $500 million in methane-emitting sectors.

Washington announced $5 million for the African Development Bank to advance agriculture and waste methane work within the Africa Climate Change Fund.

The Global Methane Hub raised $70 million to support the new Enteric Methane Research and Development Accelerator to advance critical research on reducing methane emissions from enteric fermentation, the largest single source of methane emissions from agriculture.

The USDA is investing more than $500 million in methane reduction projects through Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities.

Last year supported dozens of anaerobic digester projects and a broader range of methane-reducing investments through over $64 million in additional grants and guaranteed loans.

In the European Union, the new Common Agricultural Policy in 2023 emphasizes climate action, including methane from livestock.

In total, 40 percent of the budget will be dedicated to climate-related measures, including improved rules and monitoring requirements and quantitative targets to reduce food waste.

The EU has also published a Biomethane Actions Plan to double production to reach 35 billion cubic meters by 2030.

During the event, US climate envoy John Kerry called on countries to join this pledge to achieve significant reductions in methane emissions, which is more potent than carbon dioxide but short-lived.

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Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
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Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the group's heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with ceasefire efforts to halt the all-out war.

Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said.  

The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military's operations are directed solely against the fighters.

Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

Hezbollah fires rockets after strikes on Beirut  

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several top commanders.

The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including a 60-year old man in severe condition from rocket fire on northern Israel, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast in the central city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and a 70-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire there.  

In Haifa, a rocket hit a residential building that police said was in danger of collapsing.

The Palestine Red Crescent reported 13 injuries it said were caused by an interceptor missile that struck several homes in Tulkarem in the West Bank. It was unclear whether the injuries and damage elsewhere were caused by rockets or interceptors.

Sirens wailed again in central and northern Israel hours later.

Israeli airstrikes without warning on Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel's military said it targeted Hezbollah command centers in the southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, where the group has a strong presence.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

EU envoy calls for pressure to reach a truce  

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week.

The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for more pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was "pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.”

Josep Borrell spoke after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group.

Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208 million) to assist the Lebanese military, which would deploy additional forces to the south.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the monthlong 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol with the presence of UN peacekeepers.