World leaders pledge 30pc methane emissions cut by 2030

US president Joe Biden and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced today that over a hundred countries have pledged to cut total methane emissions by at least 30pc by 2030 as part of efforts to tackle climate change.

Speaking at the UN Cop 26 climate summit in Glasgow, Biden said that the 30pc cut is compared with 2020 levels and that the countries agreeing to the pledge can "probably go beyond that". For its part, the US is proposing new rules to reduce methane losses from new and existing oil and gas pipelines, as well as dangerous leaks from gas pipelines, and is also launching a new initiative with farmers to reduce methane emissions, Biden said.

The US is not the only major oil and gas producer signing up to the pledge. Canada aims to reduce landfill and agricultural methane emissions to help meet the 30pc target. It has also committed to reducing methane emissions from its oil and gas operations by at least three-quarters below 2012 levels by 2030. "Canada becomes the first country to answer the IEA's call for a 75pc oil and gas methane reduction goal," Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said. "And we are committed to developing regulations to get the job done."

Trudeau called on other oil-producing countries to join the pledge, saying technology is available to achieve it at low costs. Among those supporting the methane pledge are the UK and fellow North Sea producer Norway, as well as Opec members Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria, Gabon and Libya. "Our partners in the oil and gas sector should engage in making it successful," Libya's prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said. Nigeria's president Muhammadu Buhari had been due to speak, but he did not come to the launch.

The EU's von der Leyen said methane is the "lowest hanging fruit" in the fight to cut global emissions. The EU will introduce measures to report and verify methane emission levels because "only what gets measured, get done", she said. The EU will also introduce rules on venting and flaring methane, she said.

By Caroline Varin