Over 40 scientists warn against push for agri-methane ‘temperature neutrality'

Mumbai: Global efforts to reduce methane emissions and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement are being undermined by attempts to redefine climate metrics and targets, according to a statement issued by a group of more than 40 scientists from around the world.

The statement warns that alternative approaches such as “Global Warming Potential Star (GWP*)” are being misused to justify significantly weakened climate targets aimed at achieving “temperature neutrality” or “no additional warming”.

According to the scientists, such approaches “allow major methane emitters to continue producing large quantities of greenhouse gases” while continuing “their contribution to warming”, even as they misleadingly claim “climate neutrality”.

The 42 signatories include 11 authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), among them Mark Howden, Vice-Chair of IPCC Working Group II; Drew Shindell, Chair of the 2021 UNEP Global Methane Assessment; Michael E. Mann, known for the “hockey stick” climate graph; and Johan Rockström, associated with the Planetary Boundaries framework.

The scientists have called on governments to reaffirm their commitment to the Global Methane Pledge, which seeks a 30 per cent reduction in methane emissions by 2030, as well as the Paris Agreement, which requires global methane emissions to be reduced by at least 47–60 per cent by 2050. They also stressed that countries must pursue the “highest possible ambition” in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The statement noted that higher-income countries with historically higher emissions are expected to reduce greenhouse gases at a faster pace than the global average. It pointed out that most global agricultural methane emissions originate in high and upper-middle income countries. Nations such as New Zealand, Ireland, Uruguay and Australia have per capita agricultural methane emissions far above their equitable global share, according to a study co-authored by several of the signatories.

The scientists also urged companies to end what they described as misleading claims of “climate neutrality” linked to methane-intensive products, including food products and fossil gas. Such claims, they said, downplay the significant climate impact of methane-heavy sectors.

“Farmers understand the climate crisis better than anyone — drier summers and wetter winters are already impacting fodder production and cattle productivity. With the right support, they can reduce emissions and transition to an economically and environmentally sustainable farming system,” said Paul Behrens, British Academy Global Professor at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, and a signatory to the statement.

“Methane reductions can act as an emergency brake on global warming, complementing cuts in longer-lived gases such as carbon dioxide, which take much more time to reduce warming. If we are to limit global temperatures to around 1.5°C, every country and every sector must play its part,” said Drew Shindell, Nicholas Professor of Earth Sciences at Duke University and Chair of the 2021 UNEP Global Methane Assessment.