March 23rd – The newly launched Global Methane Hub, a global alliance of more than 20 leading philanthropies and organizations committed to reducing global methane emissions by more than 30% by the year 2030, today announced the appointment of Marcelo Mena as its new chief executive officer.
The Global Methane Hub was formed last year with a commitment of over $300 million which will be managed by the Global Methane Hub, with $100 million of the funding managed by the philanthropic funders under the direction of Mena. The commitment was formed by leading global philanthropies including the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, High Tide Foundation, and more, making it the largest private pledge to reduce methane emissions globally and significantly boost philanthropic resources allocated specifically to methane reduction. So far, the Hub has already funded $10 million in sixteen early action grants to support essential methane solutions and reducing emissions, driving private sector and government action to tackle agricultural methane, tracking corporate and more.
“We are at a critical moment in the climate crisis, and The Global Methane Hub will play a strategic role in accelerating ambition around methane emissions globally,” said Mena. “The work we do today will ensure we meet the 1.5°C target set by the Paris Agreement in our sights. There is a lot of work ahead of us and I am grateful to work alongside our philanthropy partners, NGOs, policy leaders and other stakeholders around the world to move quickly and decisively to meet this challenge.”
Mena, previously served as Minister of the Environment of Chile and has extensive experience as a scientist, activist, former professor, and policymaker. In his role as Minister of Environment, he spearheaded multiple international environmental initiatives including helping craft a landmark agreement to phase out coal power generation, South America’s first carbon taxes for power generation and new car sales, creating 45,000 square kilometers of national parks, and protecting 1.3 million square kilometers of ocean. While a Practice Manager at the World Bank he led the team that created the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, and the Adaptation Action Plan.
Mena’s expertise will help lead The Global Methane Hub at a grave time, as nations look for funding and solutions to achieve the goals of the Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30% by the year 2030 and limit warming by 0.2℃ by 2050 and address the climate crisis.
Funding from The Global Methane Hub will support and sustain action from civil society, government, and private industry, including in the more than 100 countries that have signed on to the Pledge by meaningfully investing in methane reduction solutions. Initiatives have already begun by developing sector-based strategies for waste, agriculture, and fossil fuels. In addition, The Global Methane Hub is currently forming a comprehensive Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework for strategy and grantmaking applications. This approach will focus on monitoring performance, evaluating activities, and supporting continuous learning.
“Methane emissions reduction is one of the fastest ways to abate global temperature rise, which in turn helps countries avoid the devastating effects of climate change,” said Richard Lawrence, Founder and Director of High Tide Foundation, one of the philanthropic organizations supporting The Global Methane Hub. “Under Marcelo’s leadership, The Global Methane Hub will help governments, civil society, and the private sector inspire greater climate ambition on methane reduction. We are thrilled that such a highly respected and long-time climate action advocate is leading The Global Methane Hub.”
Mena is the former director of the Climate Action Center at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV) and the Chile Office of the Global Center on Adaptation. Previously he was the practice manager in climate research at the World Bank and the former vice minister and minister of the environment for Chile under President Bachelet from 2014 to 2018. Mena earned his Ph.D. in environmental engineering, focusing his research on estimating the externalities of biofuels, power generation, transportation and residential heating. He used his research to advocate for renewable energy and push for more stringent regulations to stop dirty coal power generation in Chile. In his career, he has received awards from UNEP, National Geographic, Oceans Unite, NASA and EPA as well as fellowships from MIT and the Fulbright Commission.
You can learn more about the philanthropic commitment and methane pledge, HERE and about the Global Methane Hub, HERE.