Biden asks nations to join US, EU in pledge to cut global methane emissions
/President Joe Biden said the U.S. is working with the European Union on a pledge to cut global emissions of methane by at least 30% below 2020 levels by the end of the decade, and he urged other world leaders to sign the pact.
"This will not only rapidly reduce the rate of global warming, but it will also produce a very valuable side benefit, like improving public health and agricultural output," Biden said.
The Sept. 17 announcement came as world leaders joined Biden for a virtual meeting of the U.S.-led Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate ahead of a United Nations conference on climate change in Glasgow, Scotland, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12. The virtual forum followed a summit in April where some of the world's biggest emitters pledged to ramp up their nonbinding nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, that were established as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
"We believe the collective goal is ambitious but realistic," Biden said.
Much of the summit was closed to the public, and senior administration officials have said not to expect announcements of further commitments from the Sept. 17 event. Biden did not say which other countries have agreed to join the pact, called the "Global Methane Pledge." Attendees of the summit included leaders from Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, the European Commission, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico and the United Kingdom, as well as the U.N. secretary general, according to the White House.