US President Joe Biden left Scotland on Tuesday night after the UN global climate conference came to a close with countries pledging to stop deforestation and cut emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane to help slow climate change.
On the second day of the two-week summit in Glasgow, Scotland, wealthy nations took some overdue actions to provide long-promised financial help for the developing countries worst hit by global warming.
The United Nations conference aims to keep alive a receding target of capping temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to avert still greater damage than has already been caused by greenhouse gases.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, host of the event attended by almost 200 countries, said he welcomed the latest steps but urged caution.
More than 100 countries joined a US- and EU-led effort to cut emissions of methane 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels, potentially a step in stemming the overheating of the planet.
Leaders of developing countries most at risk from the effects of climate change, such as heatwaves, droughts, storms and flooding, told delegates the stakes could not be higher.
The Global Methane Pledge, launched on Tuesday after being announced in September with just a few signatories, now covers countries representing nearly half of global methane emissions and 70% of global GDP, Biden said.
Methane is more short-lived in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide but 80 times more potent in warming the planet.
Cutting emissions of the gas, estimated to have accounted for 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times, is one of the most effective ways of slowing climate change.
Among the signatories is Brazil – one of the five biggest emitters of methane, generated in cows’ digestive systems, in landfill waste and in oil and gas production.
Three others – China, Russia and India – have not signed up, while Australia has said it will not back the pledge.
The United States also unveiled its own domestic proposal to crack down with a focus on the oil and gas sector, where leaky infrastructure allows methane to escape into the atmosphere.
