Santiago, Chile – Today, the Global Methane Hub announced that agriculture and environment ministers and ambassadors from 13 countries, including the United States, have issued a commitment to reduce methane emissions in agriculture. Last month, the Global Methane Hub collaborated with the Ministries of Agriculture of Chile and Spain to convene the first-ever global ministerial on agricultural practices to reduce methane emissions. The ministerial brought together high-ranking government members to share global perspectives on methane reduction and low-emission food systems. The gathering led to a statement in which the nations committed to support efforts to improve the quality and quantity of, and access to, finance for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in the agriculture and food sectors and to collaborate on efforts aimed at lowering methane emissions in agriculture and food systems.
The focus of the conference was the deployment of science-based practices, innovation, and technologies in line with sustainable food production, food security, food loss, waste reduction and recovery. The event collaborators included The Global Methane Hub, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Climate & Clean Air Coalition, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, World Bank, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Inter-American Development Bank.
“Food systems are responsible for 60% of methane emissions. We congratulate countries willing to take the lead in food systems methane mitigation and confirm our commitment to support this type of initiative with programs that explore promising methane mitigation technologies and the underpinning research of methane mitigation mechanisms to create new technologies,” said Marcelo Mena, CEO of Global Methane Hub.
“Mitigating methane is the fastest way to reduce warming in the short term. Food and agriculture can contribute to a low-methane future by improving farmer productivity and resilience. We welcome agriculture ministers participating in the implementation of the Global Methane Pledge,” said John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.
“We are very pleased that the countries that participated in the conference committed to good practices in livestock not only to adapt to climate change but also to mitigate methane emissions. This includes countries from five continents and most of the major cattle-producing countries of the west of the world,” said Esteban Valenzuela, Chile’s Agricultural Minister.
“I am glad to see the shared commitment by the international community to mitigate methane emissions from agriculture as a means to achieve the goals we signed for in the Paris Agreement on climate. To that aim we must promote investments and transfer of knowledge at farm level to put in practice the best available techniques that allow farmers to curb the emissions and to strengthen their resilience and adaptation to climate change.” said Luis Planas, Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
The statement focuses on how to optimize public-private collaboration, enhance private investment, actively promote innovative solutions that are adapted locally, and promote the exchange of international experience and knowledge, while considering elements of circular economy, just transition, and inclusive decision-making.
The methane mitigation-related principles and commitments were first announced and presented at the Aim for Climate Summit by Chile and Spain, with high-level representatives from Australia and Panama, and the special participation of U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. The countries subscribing to the statement are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Panama, Peru, Spain, the United States, and Uruguay.
The government of Spain will organize a second conference in 2024 to monitor and advance implementation efforts related to the statement and encourage more countries to join.