Article
Momentum growing at COP29 for drastic methane reduction – new global campaign pushes for legally binding targets
PRESS RELEASE
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN, NOV 21. Let's face it. We are in a dire state. Due to political inaction, we are only beginning to flatten the emissions curve when we must halve emissions by 2030 to avoid reaching irreversible, self-reinforcing tipping points. According to a recent study, 94 percent of the world's leading climate scientists believe this goal is no longer achievable.
But we can still do this - by rapidly cutting methane and other short-lived climate pollutants.
At the UN Climate Conference COP29, We Don’t Have Time—the world’s largest media platform for climate action—and the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, have launched the global #BuyMoreTime campaign to push for making this happen (learn more about the campaign here).
Methane is the biggest contributor to global warming among all short-lived climate pollutants. But it is has a lifespan of only 7-12 years. This means that if we simply stop emitting it, methane levels in the atmosphere will rapidly decrease, thereby reducing global warming by up to 0.5°C.
Make no mistake, we need to intensify our efforts to phase out fossil fuels and accelerate the green transition across all sectors in all countries. But by drastically cutting methane and other super pollutants, we would buy ourselves more time to stabilize global temperatures as close to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels as possible.
The momentum is growing. 158 countries, the EU, and 140 companies have already committed to cutting methane emissions by 30% by 2030. And this week at COP29, over 30 countries, responsible for nearly half of global methane from organic waste, endorsed the declaration to reduce these emissions.
But for these drastic reductions to happen, pledges must become legally binding agreements. We've done it before: the 1987 Montreal Protocol eliminated 99% of all ozone-depleting substances and allowed the ozone layer to heal. We can do this again – with methane and other superpollutants.
The #BuyMoreTime campaign encourages business leaders, policymakers, scientists and individuals to sign the #BuyMoreTime letter, requesting UN Ambassadors from the countries of the undersigned to champion a new UN protocol for quickly reducing emissions of methane and other short-lived climate pollutants.
Ingmar Rentzhog, CEO and founder, We Don’t Have Time:
”Methane emissions stem from only three major industry sources, and it is an unwanted waste product that wont affect anyone´s business if we take it away. Thanks to new technology, methane leaks can be identified from space with unprecedented accuracy. We have the solutions, we have the will. Now all we need are binding agreements to make it happen.”
Johan Falk, CEO and co-founder, the Exponential Roadmap Initiative:
”Cost-effective solutions to halve methane emissions by 2030 exist. We need strong action and policy to scale them exponentially now.”
Professor Johan Rockström, Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and Co-Chair, the Exponential Roadmap Initiative:
”The Montreal protocol is a successful, legally binding, global framework, where a minority of countries in the world had a phase-out plan that spilled over to all the countries in the world. Doing something similar for methane and other non-CO2 gases would definitely be beneficial, because in the Montreal Protocol countries are held accountable.”
#BuyMoreTime: Cutting Short-Lived Pollutants for Rapid Planetary Cooling (Nov 12)
With Martina Otto, Head of Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat, UNEP; Stefania Abakerli, Coordinator, CH4D, The World Bank; Marcelo Mena, CEO, Global Methane Hub; Zubin Bamji, Manager, GFMR, The World Bank; Faig Mutallimov, Head of Environmental Policy Division, Ministry of Ecology & Natural Resources, Azerbaijan; Ingmar Rentzhog, CEO & Founder, We Don't Have Time. Watch now.
#BuyMoreTime – Fixing Methane Releases in Fossil Fuel Production (Nov 13)
With Tomás de Oliveira Bredariol, Energy Analyst, IEA; Sharon Wilson, Director, Oilfield Witness; Mark Brownstein, Senior Vice President, Energy Transition, Environmental Defense Fund; Ingmar Rentzhog, CEO & Founder, We Don't Have Time. Watch now.
The Other Half of Warming – Climate Super Pollutants (Nov 13)
With Rick Duke, Deputy Special Envoy for Climate, U.S. Department of State; Durwood Zaelke, President, IGSD; David Kanter, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, New York University; Martina Otto, Head of Secretariat, Climate & Clean Air Coalition, UNEP. Watch now.
#BuyMoreTime – Governmental Methane Action (Nov 14)
With: Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe, Director-General, National Council on Climate Change, Nigeria; Tibor Stelbaczky, Principal Adviser on Energy Diplomacy, EEAS; Martina Otto, Head of Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat, UNEP; Ingmar Rentzhog, CEO & Founder, We Don't Have Time. Watch now.
#BuyMoreTime – Coal Mines & Methane (Nov 15)
Chris Wright, Climate Strategy Advisor, Ember; Dan Barry, CEO, Peak Carbon; Dorothy Lan Mei, Project Manager, Global Energy Monitor; Ingmar Rentzhog, CEO & Founder, We Don't Have Time. Watch now.
#BuyMoreTime – Coal Mines & Methane (Nov 15)
Chris Wright, Climate Strategy Advisor, Ember; Dan Barry, CEO, Peak Carbon; Dorothy Lan Mei, Project Manager, Global Energy Monitor; Ingmar Rentzhog, CEO & Founder, We Don't Have Time. Watch now.
#BuyMoreTime – Landfills & Waste (Nov 16)
With Mariel Vilella, Global Climate Program Director, GAIA; Berliana Yusuf, Senior Analyst, Climate Policy Initiative; Charlotte Morton OBE, CEO, World Biogas Association; Peter Dery, Director, Environment, Ministry of Environment, Ghana. Watch now.
#BuyMoreTime – Air Pollution (Nov 18)
With Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Public Health & Environment, WHO; Valerie Hickey, Global Director, Environment, The World Bank; Sean Maguire, Executive Director, Strategic Partnership, Clean Air Fund. Watch now.
#BuyMoreTime – Agriculture (Nov 19)
With Finn Ross, Director, Climate Action Company; Martina Otto, Head of Secretariat, Climate & Clean Air Coalition, UNEP; Julia Wolf, Natural Resources Officer, FAO’s Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment. Watch now.
#BuyMoreTime – Voices on Methane (Nov 20)
With Baroness Shaista Sheehan, Peer, UK House of Lords; and Steven Hamburg, Chief Scientist,
EDF & MethaneSAT Mission Lead. Watch now.
#Exponential Plans – How to Win the Fossil-Free Economy and #BuyMoreTime
(Nov 20)
With Prof. Johan Rockström, Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research; Ingmar Rentzhog, CEO & Founder, We Don't Have Time; Johan Falk, CEO & Co-founder, Exponential Roadmap Initiative; Catherine McKenna, CEO, Climate and Nature Solutions; David Wallerstein, Creator, Climate Extremes. Watch now.
#BuyMoreTime (Nov 21)
With Martina Otto, Head of Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat, UNEP; Catherine Stewart, Ambassador for Climate Change, Government of Canada; Sir David King, Chair, Climate Crisis Advisory Group. Watch now.
ABOUT
We Don't Have Time is the world's largest media platform for climate action—with a mission to democratize knowledge about climate solutions and inspire and mobilize global action toward a prosperous, fossil-free future. Boasting a community of 100,000+ climate professionals and influencers in 180 countries, and partnerships with 350+ companies, government- and civil society organizations, We Don’t Have Time reaches 200 million people each month on social media. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with offices in Washington, D.C., and Nairobi, Kenya.
The Exponential Roadmap Initiative is for innovators, transformers and disruptors taking action in line with 1.5°C, with the mission to halve emissions before 2030 through exponential climate action and solutions. The Exponential Roadmap Initiative is an accredited partner of the United Nations’ Race to Zero, and a founding partner of the 1.5°C Supply Chain Leaders and the SME Climate Hub. Find out more at:
For more information, please contact:
Nick Nuttall, Strategic Communications Director, We Don’t Have Time
nick.nuttall@wedonthavetime.org
+49 160 2111102
Ingmar Rentzhog, founder and CEO, We Don’t Have Time
founder@
https://wedonthavetime.org
+46 73 633 29 10
Sign the letter
Sign the #BuyMoreTime letter
We need to buy more time to stabilize global temperatures as close to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels as possible. Sign the #BuyMoreTime letter to your country's UN Ambassador.
https://wedonthavetime.org/buymoretime
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5 h
Les intervenants ont des solutions rentables pour réduire les émissions de méthane, il manque la volonté politique.
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1 w
Legally binding targets could be a game-changer, but only if countries actually commit and follow through.
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1 w
Watching this campaign daily from cop29 and listening the views of different speakers, it's a very inspirational campaign that will be very beneficial to our planet. I agree with Johan Falk, "We need strong action and policy to scale them exponentially, it's possible.
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2 w
The next step is pushing for binding agreements, not just pledges