Pakistan to join ‘Methane Pledge’

By Asghar Ali Mubarak

ISLAMABAD: European Union and United States (US) governments have invited Pakistan to join ‘Methane Pledge’, a global effort to be launched this year on the sidelines of United Nations (UN) annual Climate Summit in Glasgow later this month, unveiled by the Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Special Assistant on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam.
He remarked the pledge is a US and EU-led global efforts already joined by two dozen countries so far to jointly to cut methane emissions 30 percent by 2030, boosting the emerging global partnership a momentum for slowing down global warming ahead of its launch at the UN climate summit, according to a press statement issued here on Monday from the climate change ministry.
Malik Amin said, “We have conveyed our consent to the EU and US governments that Pakistan is joining the Methane Pledge to support global efforts to fight climate change.”
Now Pakistan is among the 24 new signatories to the Global Methane Pledge first announced by the United States and EU in September with the aim of boost rapid climate action prior to the onset of the two-week long global climate change summit starting from October 31.
The nine original partners include UK, Mexico, Indonesia, Japan and Nigeria, which signed on to the pledge when it was announced at the Major Economies Forum in September this year. The partnership of the signatories of the Methane Pledge now cover 60 percent of global GDP and 30 percent of global methane emissions.
“It could have unprecedentedly a powerful bearing on the energy, agriculture and waste sectors responsible for the largescale emissions of methane gas,” PM’s aide emphasised.