Methane - Solutions Dialogues, Climate Summit 2026 Meetings & Events Date: 22 September 2026 Language: English Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/en/asset/k1p/k1phi8m16z Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations. --- UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [17:28]: Okay. Okay. Okay. Good afternoon. Excellencies, colleagues, ministers, friends, if we can slowly settle down with a little bit of a delay, a couple of minutes. My name is Martin Krause. I am the director of the Climate Division of the United Nations Environment Programme, and it is my honor here to moderate our afternoon session. This is a high level dialogue on methane. It's being convened by the UNSG's CAT team, by Bloomberg Philanthropies, and by UNEP. A technical dialogue on one of the greenhouse gases, methane, attracting so many of you to be here is actually a remarkable story. It's remarkable because a couple of years ago, maybe that topic would not have attracted so many of you. So I want to thank you for spending these next two hours with us. We have an exciting dialogue ahead of us. I would like my two colleagues sitting to the right and to the left to actually guide us and to frame our discussion and to open this dialogue. I will first turn to Mr. Fatih Turan, speaking on behalf of the Turkey presidency of COP31. He's the general director of the Environmental Management Directorate. And, sir, you have the floor for the opening remarks. Türkiye · General Director of the Environmental Management Directorate · Fatih Turan [24:03]: Thank you. Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of COP 31 presidency, I would like to share our opinions regarding methane. It's a great honor to address you today at the Methane Dialogue during Climate Week in New York. We are at a critical moment. The window to 2030 is closing. We need action now. Methane is one of the most important areas where we can act quickly. Reducing methane can slow global warming in the near term. It can also improve air quality, and it can protect public health and ecosystems. The scientific message is clear. The latest UNEP reports warn us that global temperatures are approaching the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold. We cannot afford to wait. we need to move from commitments to implementation. This is also the spirit of the COP29 declaration on reducing methane from organic waste. Turkey is proud to be an active endorser and signatory of this declaration. We have integrated the avoidance, diversion, valorization and infrastructure approach into our climate strategies. Our objective is simple. We want to reduce emissions, but we also want to create value from waste. Organic waste can become biogas. It can become organic fertilizer. It can become a resource for the circular economy. This is how we can connect climate action with economic opportunity. Distinguished delegates, we also need to connect climate action with clean air action. These are not separate agendas. They are closely connected. In Turkey, we are strengthening our national air pollutant emission inventory. We are also expanding our air quality monitoring networks. Better data means better policies. Better policies mean better implementation. Methane reduction also has important air quality benefits. It can reduce ground level ozone formation. It can protect human health, and it can protect ecosystems. This is why Turkey is strengthening action across our steels, landfills, and industrial areas. We are also strengthening international cooperation. As an important step forward, COP31, Turkey will host the International Clean Air Dialogue in Istanbul on 23rd and 24th September, tomorrow. The dialogue will focus on practical solutions. It will bring together policy, science, data and finance. Our aim is clear. We want to connect clear air action with ambitious methane reduction. Distinguished participants, let me focus on the waste sector. This waste sector offers a major opportunity. We already have many practical solutions. We can reduce methane emissions today, but we need to think beyond methane capture alone. We need to transform our waste management systems. I would highlight three priorities. First, reducing organic waste going to landfills. Prevention must come first. Food waste must be reduced. Organic waste must be separate at source. And we need adequate infrastructure for treatment and recovery. Second, improving methane capture and utilization. We need stronger systems at landfills. We also need better use of biogas from wastewater treatment. We must measure emissions. We must monitor them. And we must strengthen reporting and operational capacity. Third, accelerating the circular economy, waste prevention, waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery of organic resources. These actions reduce the amount of waste going to disposal. They also create economic value and they reduce methane emissions. So waste reduction, circularity, and methane mitigation are not separate issues. They are part of one transformation. Distinguished participants, Turkey is already moving in this direction. We have expanded the zero waste approach across the country. We are strengthening source separation. We are expanding recovery infrastructure. And we are improving landfill management. Our recovery rate has reached more than 37%. Approximately 96% of our population is now served by waste management services. But we will not stop here. We'll do more. We'll further reduce organic waste. We'll expand separate collection. We'll improve methane measurement and monitoring. And we'll accelerate the transition to circular and resource-efficient waste management. These efforts are closely linked to Turkey's COP31 presidency. Under the COP31 action agenda, we aim to halve the projected increase in global annual municipal waste generation by 2035. We also aim to increase the global circular material use rate in production and manufacturing to 15%. These are ambitious goals, but they are necessary goals. Excellencies, we now need three things from the international community. First, finance. Developing countries need access to affordable and concessional finance. They need bankable projects, they need risk sharing mechanisms, and they need investment in waste infrastructure and methane reduction. Second, data and accountability. We need better measurement, we need better monitoring, and we need faster action. UNEP's Methane Alert and Response System, MARS, is an important tool in this regard. We should connect advanced monitoring with national action. Third, implementation. We need practical regulations, we need clear guidelines, and we need sector specific solutions, especially in the waste sector and organic supply chains. In this context, Turkey is developing under the COP 31 presidency and in cooperation with UNDP, the high level dialogue and methane emissions reduction from the waste sector. This initiative has one central objective, to turn to turn commitments into implementation. We want to share successful solutions. We want to scale up proven practices. And we want to address the technical, institutional, and financial barriers that countries face. Distinguished participants, new commitments are important, but commitments alone are not enough. We need partnerships, we need finance, we need technology, and we need implementation. Turkey stands ready to work with governments, cities, and municipalities. We are ready to work with international organizations, financial institutions, the private sector, and technical partners. Let us work together. Let us reduce methane. Let us transform waste into resources. Let us strengthen the circular economy. And let us protect our climate and our commitments. The message from Turkey is simple. From commitments to implementation, from implementation to measurable results. Let us act, let us implement, and let us do it now. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [32:38]: I thank Mr. Turan for his opening remarks, and I will now turn to Mr. Selwyn Hart, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General and also head of the Climate Action Team for his opening remark. Please, the floor is yours, Selwyn. UN · Special Advisor to the Secretary-General; Head of Climate Action Team · Selwyn Hart [32:52]: Martin, thank you so much. And I want to thank you and your colleagues at UNEP, our friends and colleagues and partners at Bloomberg philanthropy, and also my colleagues from the Climate Action Team. And all of you, welcome to the United Nations. It's your home. And we're happy that you're joining us this afternoon. Now, this room understands the methane challenge, and you also understand the solutions. So today is about implementation. And permit me, I'll be frank as usual. In June this year at London Climate Week, the Secretary General issued his call to action on methane with nine concrete actions across the three main emitting sectors, fossil fuels, agriculture and waste. Our task today and And the reason why we work to convene this solutions dialogue is to help move these nine actions forward faster and at greater scale and through stronger international cooperation. Across agriculture, we know that we need to accelerate practical solutions in livestock and rice production while supporting farmers and strengthening food security. Across waste, We need to cut emissions from landfills and wastewater, expand methane capture, and turn waste into a resource. And across fossil fuels, we need to move much faster towards near zero methane emissions, ending routine venting and avoidable flaring, detecting and repairing leaks, and strengthening measurement, reporting, and verification. I said that because we know what we need to do. It's not rocket science. And we have the technologies. So, but this is where the implementation effort really needs to focus on these nine actions. And there's one concrete area where I hope this meeting can move the agenda forward. Also in London, the Secretary General called on UNEP to lead the technical work towards a near zero methane intensity standard for oil and gas. We know that this is the low hanging fruit and we must all collectively work to help move this forward. In this room, we have producers and consumers. We have that coalition that is desperately needed to move this agenda forward. So we need your help in advancing this work. We need to build agreement around the technical pathway, connect the standard to credible measurement, reporting and verification, and build a coalition of governments, companies and institutions. That coalition, which is needed to translate it into practice. But the technical work cannot be an end in and of itself. we need to define the political landing ground when and where countries can come together around the standard and how we build a coalition behind it and how we move from technical agreement to implement actual implementation in the market. Ultimately, the objective must be to move towards a global methane emission standard that can support a near zero methane marketplace. So I hope we leave this room with clarity on three issues. And these three issues will help to inform how we take stock at COP31. First, what each of us will do to accelerate implementation of the call to action across fossil fuels, agriculture, and waste. Second, where greater international cooperation, finance, technology, and capacity are needed, particularly to support developing countries. We cannot, and I'm emphasizing this in every room, we cannot leave developing countries behind. And third, how we collectively support UNIT and taking forward the technical work on a near-zero methane intensity standard and build that political coalition. And I see here we have, I believe, that political coalition of major producers and consumers, but how we build that political coalition, which is needed to move the technical work towards implementation in the marketplace. This is a group I solemnly believe, which is more than capable on moving forward on these three areas. The Secretary General, he has set out the actions. Our job is to deliver on them. I thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [38:12]: Thank you so much, Selvin, for this clear framing and guiding that will help us to focus our discussion here this afternoon. I will now We will now show a video address from our Executive Director, Ms. Inga Andersen. This video was prepared specially for this session. Are we ready to play the video? Okay. is working. Unless somebody gives me some support or something, but it's not working, right? I do have the address here in front of me, if you don't mind. I will deliver the address on behalf of our executive director. Ministers, Excellencies, colleagues, friends, welcome. from our side, from UNEP's side, to the solution dialogue on methane. As UNEP's limiting overshoot report revealed this month, we just published it about two and a half weeks ago, global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. And that is likely to happen within the next few years. We can expect an intensification of extreme weather glacier melt, and sea level rise, the risks of crossing tipping points will grow. There will be further damage to human health, food security, water supplies, nature, cities, infrastructure, and more. So we must limit peak temperatures and return to below 1.5 by the end of the century, all while adapting to unavoidable impacts. While we must focus on many different sources of emissions, including phasing out fossil fuels, many of these will take time. Time we do not have. We do, however, have an emergency brake, and that is cutting methane emissions. Methane has a shorter atmospheric lifetime than carbon dioxide. So fast action on methane emissions quickly translates into a slower rate of global warming. Meeting the global methane pledge goal of cutting methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 could avoid up to 0.2 degrees Celsius of warming by 2050. And methane abatement provides other clear benefits, up to $330 billion in annual global economic benefits by 2030, and a reduction in ground-level ozone and air pollutants that damages health and agricultural productivity. We have seen increasing commitment. 159 countries and the EU have backed the GMP. With support from the UNEP-hosted Climate and Clean Air Coalition, countries have set methane roadmaps. Methane is increasingly reflected in NDCs and sector policies. With the full implementation of the current NDCs and the national methane action plans, emissions would fall by 8 to 10% by 2030. But we must do better, and to do better, we must follow the SG's call to action. which gives us a practical roadmap across all the three major emitting sectors, which are fossil fuels, waste, and agriculture. Today's dialogue is about how we turn that roadmap into implementation at speed and at scale. The fossil fuel sector, responsible for almost 40% of human methane emissions, offers the biggest near-term methane opportunity. In this sector, the solutions are proven and available. We can detect and repair leaks. We can eliminate routine flaring. We can capture coal mine methane. We can improve equipment and operations. And we can recover methane that would otherwise be wasted. Many of these measures are low cost or net cost or even cost saving for the companies. And UNEP, through the International Methane Emission Observatory, also known as IMEO, and the CCAC is helping to drive oil, gas, and coal towards near zero methane. The Oil and Gas Methane Partnership, also known as OGMP 2.0, already covers around 45% of oil and gas production. This is a coalition of the willing, of industry, of oil and gas companies. And this partnership is moving companies towards credible measurement-based reporting. Now we need the whole industry to move to verified emission reductions. Currently, the best performers score over 100 times better than the worst. If all the industry matched leading operators, global emissions from oil and gas operations could fall by 90%, 9-0 percent. UNEP's Methane Alert and Response System, also known as MARS, provides independent eyes in the sky, alerting governments and operators to major methane plumes. Over 40 verified mitigation actions across 12 countries demonstrate that emissions detected from space can be stopped on the ground. Markets are another lever. We work with partners to clarify what near zero methane actually means in practice and define a shared responsibility between buyers and producers. To truly move, industry must scale up finance for methane abatement. Cutting fossil fuel methane by 75% requires around $28 billion per year, less than 2% of the industry's annual net income. Let me turn to the waste sector. The waste sector, which contributes about 20% of human-caused methane emissions, is another major opportunity. If we turn organic waste into a resource, we can cut methane while creating jobs, healthier communities, and providing income for local governments. This can be achieved through preventing organic waste from ending up in landfills. Better collection, better separation, food waste strategies, as we have heard from the Turkish presidency, composting, anaerobic digestion, and landfill gas capture. UNEP and the CCAC are supporting countries to harness these opportunities, and we welcome Turkey's interest in setting up a waste fund to improve waste management infrastructure at city level. Agriculture is perhaps the hardest sector to abate, but with about 40% of anthropogenic methane emissions, it cannot be ignored. The key to change in this sector is focusing on measures that can reduce methane while at the same time improving productivity, farmer income, food security, and resilience to climate change. Rice cultivation, livestock management, nutrient and manure management all present significant opportunities. For example, in rice cultivation, Alternate wet drying is both a methane reduction measure and a strategy to cope with water scarcity. Better residue use and nutrient management is another approach, and the CCAC is supporting countries by backing innovative projects in this area. A new food system and agricultural assessment produced jointly with the Food and Agricultural Organization, FAO, is coming next year to identify solution, so please do look out when this is coming next year. Excellencies, let me conclude here. We do indeed have the technologies and approaches to apply the methane emergency brake. The Secretary-General's call to action has set out a practical roadmap. What we need now is the strength to pull hard on that brake. Let us focus today's discussion on what is working, what is holding us back, and what we can do together to unlock greater speed and scale. This is the address that our executive director had prepared for our session here, which I just delivered on her behalf. And let me now turn on my moderator hat and we will start our dialogue. So it is my pleasure here to moderate our discussion, which will focus on moving us from the pledges that we have done, from the commitments that we have heard, to actually action on methane across the three sectors. We will start our discussion with the fossil fuel sector, where the opportunity for near-term, large-scale reduction is the greatest, as we have heard in the introductory speeches here. After that, we will turn to the waste sector and then the agricultural sector. where equally important opportunities must not be overlooked. Across these three sectors, we will explore solutions, policies, finance and partnerships that are needed for turning the ambition into action and to deliver reductions, concrete reductions at scale. So for our first segment, as I said, on fossil fuels, I have already on my list 18 speakers, which means I'm asking you kindly to show respect to those who are at the end of that queue of speakers and shorten maybe your interventions to two and a half, maximum three minutes. Otherwise, we will run out of time and those who are at the end of the queue will not have the opportunity to speak. With that, we start our dialogue and I call on Micronesia first. His Excellency, Mr. Florian Yathilman, Secretary and Minister of the Department of Environment and Climate Change and Emergency Management. And my concrete question to you, sir, is As a champion of the Global Methane Pledge, how does Micronesia see the value of rapid methane action, and what can countries do now to accelerate progress? Micronesia (Federated States of) · Secretary and Minister of the Department of Environment and Climate Change and Emergency Management · Florian Yathilman [51:22]: Thank you very much, moderator. And it's a pleasure to be here with all of you. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, I thank the Secretary General, UNEP and Bloomberg Philanthropies for convening this high level solutions dialogue on one of the most important pathways for climate action. As the world advances in the uncertain future beyond 1.5 degrees, the need to slow temperature rise could not be more urgent. For small island states like Micronesia, every fraction for of a degree is the difference between a safe future for our people or the nightmare we experienced this year with a massive fish kill from an unusual early El Nino and the merciless typhoon Sinlaku, a category five storm that destroyed homes and critical crops, triggered a near total power blackout contaminated our freshwater source, and left roads entirely impassable for weeks. We know that this is the kind of future we face if temperature continues to rise, which is why Micronesia is a passionate proponent of global action to reduce methane, because methane mitigation is an essential strategy that can buy precious time for vulnerable nations and communities like ours to build resilience for what is in store, as well as for the global community to make greater headway on decarbonization. Methane alone will not solve climate change, but it is the closest thing to a silver bullet that we have. And yet, in the oil and gas sector, while we hear time and again that methane mitigation is the single largest cost-effective opportunity for near-term climate benefits that the technologies exist and the proverbial fruit hangs very low, despite the science and know-how and the innumerable pledges and initiatives, emission continues to rise. Excellencies, friends, here beyond the threshold of 1.5 degrees of warming, where every day there is another catastrophic storm, record-breaking heat, and unstoppable wildfire, it is our duty to act with resolve and courage. Science, policies, and industry have joined forces to solve some of the greatest challenges of humankind. We can make history and solve this one as well. We must find a rapid pathway to achieve near zero methane emission intensity in the fossil fuel sector, including, for example, putting in place regulations and policies to end routine venting and flaring by 2030. Excellencies, this dialogue is an opportunity to move from pledges to action, from promises to results. We must use this moment to galvanize practical partnerships mobilize finances, and accelerate deployment of solutions across all methane emitting sectors leading with fossil fuel. The prospect of achieving near zero methane emission from oil and gas sector is within reach. The benefits are immediate. The cost of inaction is unacceptable. Micronesia stands ready to work with all partners to answer the Secretary General's call to action and advance on this pathway, this path forward. Let us act with urgency, cooperation, and ambition. Let us delay no more. Thank you very much. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [55:21]: Thank you. Thank you so much, Micronesia. And I will turn to Norway. Her Excellency, Ms. Sigrid Haugland, Minister for Climate and Environment. May I ask, the following question. Norway has been a pioneer in driving down methane emissions from oil and gas, with its methane intensity among the lowest globally. What lessons from Norway can other countries learn and apply to strengthen their methane standards and accelerate emission reductions? Please, Minister. Norway · Minister for Climate and Environment · Sigrid Haugland [56:10]: Thank you for bringing us together today. I'm pleased to see the current momentum on methane. It is an opportunity for fast and tangible reductions, and that's also why Norway strongly supports the UN Secretary-General's call to action on methane and remains committed to the Global Methane Pledge. It has been, as the Chair was saying, a longstanding priority for Norway to reduce methane from oil and gas. In fact, Norway's first policy to reduce methane by banning routine flaring in 1971 was not implemented mainly due to environmental concerns. The motivation was to be economically smart and to avoid waste of resources. It has, however, had tangible effects also on emissions. Carbon pricing is also a cornerstone of Norway's climate policy and has been another important tool to reduce our methane emissions from oil and gas. We plan to gradually increase our carbon tax towards 2035, and this is key to achieve Norway's NDC of a 70 to 75% reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, compared to 1990. Now, Norway is ready to continue sharing our experiences on achieving low methane intensity. Leveraging private companies' expertise and access to solutions will also be crucial. So I thank you for also inviting business representatives to this meeting today. And there is a lot of potential. The IEA has estimated that if all countries followed Norway's approach with banning the flaring and carbon tax, global methane emissions from oil and gas could be reduced by as much as 90%. The need for collaboration is also why Norway follows up the declaration launched by the UK last year to drive deep reductions in methane emissions from the global fossil fuel sector. We're happy to participate in this country panel working to develop a market that rewards low methane fossil energy, and I would encourage countries that have not signed up for this yet to join this effort. Building a global market for low methane fossil energy can help turn ambition into implementation and create momentum across the sector. Looking ahead to COP31, I encourage that we together give a strong signal that we follow up the UNSG's call to action. And in the weeks ahead, we should discuss what updates to be announced from our work to ensure low methane production is recognized and valued in international markets. So message is simple. Chair, methane is one of the biggest opportunities we have to deliver tangible climate results in a short near term. And we know already what works. The time to scale it up is now. Thank you. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [59:03]: So much. Thank you so much. No way we could end our discussion here. We know what we have to do. Let's just do it, right? Why are we continuing talking now? But we will continue talking, and I will turn to the United Kingdom. Her Excellency, Ms. Katie White, Minister for Climate Transition, is here with us. And my question to you. Honourable Minister is as a global methane pledge champion, how can the UK leverage its COP30 fossil fuel statement to help translate the pledge into action, bringing initiatives and partners together to accelerate methane reductions towards the COP31? United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland · Minister for Climate Transition · Katie White [59:45]: Thank you, Chair, and good afternoon, everyone. I want to thank the UN Secretary-General, UNEP, and Bloomberg Philanthropies for convening this important discussion today. The UK is here to support the global push on methane and to help lead the move from ambition to delivery. Methane, as we all know, is responsible for around a third of the warming we are experiencing across the world. It is a driving force behind the changes to our climate that we can all see. This summer in the UK was the hottest in our entire history, a fact that was confirmed recently and came as a surprise to no one. After months of heat waves, droughts, unprecedented wildfires, school closures, hospital wards overheating and sleepless nights. Just before coming here, I met with a farmer who had worked the land in Britain for 40 years. She told me that every year she normally reaches the end of winter Britain in winter isn't always the best. And says, thank God the winter is over. She said this year was different. For the first time in four decades, she found herself thinking, thank God the summer is over. And sometimes one sentence tells you more than a page of statistics ever could. The British public are worried. They will not forgive me or the government I serve if we fail to act. And reducing global methane emissions is one of the quickest, most manageable ways to slow temperature rise in the short term and take real, meaningful action to keep 1.5 degrees and the goals of the Paris Agreement within reach. Tackling methane emissions from oil and gas is also an energy security issue and an economic issue. Capturing methane that would otherwise be leaked could help save 100 billion cubic meters of gas yearly. So it's not just about cutting waste, but also reducing our over-reliance on imports, the consequences of which have been thrown into stark relief by two fossil fuel crises so far this decade. Luckily, reducing these emissions is relatively cheap and easy to do, and something we can achieve in the short term if we act together. And here is the good news. We already know how to do much of it. We have much of the technology and the evidence. What we need now is speed. And in the UK, we've managed to cut our emissions by 58% between 1990 and 2024. Now we want to help work with other countries to move faster, pairing climate leadership with practical steps that reward cleaner production, support energy security, and create demand for lower methane fuels. That is why we welcome the UN Secretary-General's call to action on methane. The UK will use our role as global methane pledge champion and our COP30 fossil fuel statement as a platform for leadership, bringing governments, producing countries, buyers, finance, and technical partners together to turn the pledge into practical action and delivery ahead of COP31. Because we know good intentions aren't enough. A pledge does not cut a ton of methane, action does. We recognise that part of the solution is providing accurate information, creating spaces for cooperation, and building stronger demand signals for lower methane oil and gas. That is why our ambition is to build a marketplace in which international buyers can identify oil and gas produced with lower methane emissions, where they can have confidence in the data behind those claims and use that information to make informed decisions when it comes to purchases and investments. At a high level, we think that marketplace needs three things. First, a clear methane intensity standard with an agreed definition of what near zero methane means in practice. Second, credible independent verification so countries, companies, and buyers can trust that lower methane claims are based on robust measurement and transparent reporting. And third, a platform that works. So methane performance can start to shape purchasing contracts, investment decisions, and trade partnerships between countries that want to produce, buy, and finance cleaner energy. This is how we move from better data to real incentives. Producers who cut emissions should be able to demonstrate that performance. Buyers can choose lower methane supplies with confidence, and countries could use the marketplace to drive practical action across their oil and gas sectors. So my ask to you is simple. Help us set this up. Work with the UK to turn this statement into a coalition of action ahead of COP31. Help us identify the producers, the buyers, and the partners who can work together to test and scale a marketplace in practice. If we get this right, we can cut avoidable emissions, strengthen our collective energy security, and accelerate progress towards near zero methane from oil and gas. And in doing so, we can make a real, tangible contribution towards keeping 1.5 degrees in sight here and now. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:04:58]: I thank the UK, and I thank the UK also, especially for your leadership in this particular space in which we are operating and talking here, the methane space. And I will turn to Brazil. His Excellency, Mr. Alberto Maluf, who is the Vice Minister for Urban Environment and Environmental Quality. A short and simple question to you, Alberto, and that is, how is Brazil translating its methane commitments into measurable actions? Brazil · Vice Minister for Urban Environment and Environmental Quality · Alberto Maluf [1:05:33]: Thank you, Martin, ministers, excellencies, distinguished guests. Well, first of all, Brazil welcomes this dialogue organized by UNAP, Bloomberg Philanthropy, and UN Secretary General Climate Action Team as a great opportunity for us to exchange practical experience on methane mitigation across the different sectors, especially in this period of overshoot that we are living. The urgency before us demands decisive action that can deliver rapid results. And as we all here often repeat, maintaining the other short life climate pollutant can serve as our climate emergency break. Of course, we should also keep in mind that methane mitigation does not replace the deep CO2 reductions. Action must accelerate. Both need to be scaled up immediately. And Brazil, as host of COP 30, convened in Belen, the third summit on methane and on CO2, together with China, UK, and a broad coalition of partners. And under the spirit of Muchi Down, the collective efforts that were invoked at a COP 30 presidency are inspiring us all to work together towards Antalya, together with Turkey. And on the climate action agenda, we launched many plans for accelerated solution, and one of them, now, no organic waste, gather more than 13 global initiatives to address methane reduction and bring together governments, subnational, private sector, and philanthropies to work together. In Brazil, we updated our national climate change plan with very strategic goals dedicated to non-CO2 pollutants, especially methane, at all the areas. And we are now developing our climate and clean air action plan with the support of UNEP and CCAC. Together, with the implementation of our super pollutant country accelerator, which will help us to consolidate the right policies and mobilize the means of implementation to make the difference on the methane emission. And at the oil and gas sector, Brazil has worked to reduce its methane emissions intensity for a while, improving the use of associated natural gas and strengthening the monitoring and transparency. In 2024, Brazil National Energy Policy Council issued the guidelines that mandates Brazil oil and gas regulator, ANP, to develop regulations to reduce emissions in the sector, which are now being implemented after we just finished the public consultation. And as part of this process, the World Bank is collaborating now with ANP on a series of action, including campaign to increase monitoring, methane emissions, and the results are expected to contribute to improving our national methane inventory in the sector and strengthening further regulations, oversight, and supported by ANP. Brazil predominantly offshore oil and gas production, but often deep and ultra-deep waters also contribute to a production profile that is generally associated with comparative lower methane emissions intensity. And our national oil company, Petrobras, has reported significant reductions in methane intensity in upstream operation since 2015. YOUNANP expand the availability of emissions data by basis, facility, and source. We are also developing a new partnership with UNAP and I'm emitting alert response system, MART, which we hope to be in place soon to support the fast methane emission identification and energy and waste Those corporations are very important for us to guarantee transparency and effectiveness of these policies. To close, the Secretary General's call to action on methane is a great opportunity for further coordination among all of us for further cooperation, for access to technologies and to accelerate and scale up implementation. And we all need adequate financing to help to scale up the solutions, particularly at the developing world. Reducing methane emissions bring benefits that reach far beyond mitigation, improves air quality, strengthen food security, create jobs. So let's continue to work together on these important opportunities. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:09:53]: Thank you. Thank you so much, Brazil. And before we continue, I want to acknowledge the presence of Her Excellency, Ms. Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados. We know that you have been a champion for this cause on methane. Prime Minister, if you have a little bit of time and want to listen to some more speakers before you make your intervention, if that is okay. Yeah. So we then continue with our list of speakers first. And so my next speaker is from the World Bank, Mr. Jamie Ferguson, Director of Climate. Question to you. How is the World Bank ensuring that funding mechanisms like the Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership are informed by credible data and MRE? WBG · Director of Climate · Jamie Ferguson [1:10:47]: Thank you, Martin. Thank you, UNEP. Thank you, the UN Climate Action Team, and of course, COP31. The World Bank Group is focused on speed and scale of delivery on all sources of methane. So I hope you'll forgive me for breaking the structured order of discussion, and I'll speak to all three in one go. Since COP28, we've been accelerating action towards achieving triple wins, better, safer jobs and economies, increased resilience and near-term limited warming. We're delivering action through two implementation hubs, the Global Methane Reduction Platform for Development, focused on agriculture and waste, and the Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership, covering the oil and gas sector. Together, they translate our commitment into multiple climate and development gains across the developing world. Reducing methane from the oil and gas sector is not only an environmental imperative for us, but also an energy security and economic opportunity, turning wasted gas into domestic supply, government revenue, and jobs. The Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership is bringing together governments and major international oil companies to de-risk and deliver methane reduction projects in emerging economies, turning pollution into economic opportunity. In the agri-food and waste sectors, we are using our policy outreach and investment portfolio as vital levers for change. With a very small initial catalytic grant support of $15 million from donors, in just two years, we informed more than $15 billion in World Bank Group public and private financing across 35 countries, more than double the original ambition of 15. This portfolio is expected to cut 11 million tons of emissions over the investment timeline and support more than 150 million people. This leverage reflects not only the power of strategic upstream investment coupled with policy outreach, but genuine country demand for practical, cost effective methane solutions. Three enabling conditions are decisive, and we're working with governments and partners to build all three. First, national climate plans must name methane with sector specific targets. Second, MRV must be affordable for developing country contexts. And third, financing must crowd in private capital. For our waste and agriculture program in particular, the machinery is built, the proof of concept is clear, and countries are actively demanding more. Every dollar of initial catalytic grant support we received unlocked a thousand-fold return in informed financing. To keep pace with this rapidly expanding pipeline, we are discussing with many of you expanding and seeking additional funding. So we are fully committed to this agenda, and we look forward to continuing work together with all of you to fund, scale, and create jobs and opportunity on a livable planet. Thank you, Martin. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:13:44]: Thank you so much. Thank you, Jeremy. And now I will give the floor to Her Excellency, Ms. Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados. Barbados · Prime Minister · Mia Mottley [1:13:57]: Thank you very much. And I want to salute the World Bank for continuing to take action in this area where it matters. President Banga was very clear that he wanted to take on the rice paddy farming and the livestock farming because let us also be very brutally honest. The reason why we haven't seen the level of progress in this area is because one, with respect to the farming in particular, The notion that farmers would be asked to carry the cost of adjustment is what has hurt countries from coming forward and having perhaps a fuller embrace of what is the most obvious win-win in this climate crisis discussion. The truth is that World Bank and other countries and institutions are going to have to be the ones that help the farmers cross the bridge of reducing methane emissions. But the win-win exists with the oil and gas companies. And I was happy that in Paris earlier this year at the opening of the G7 meeting, we were able to see in the same room the persons from the oil and gas sector, the persons from the farming sector, the persons from the waste management sector, along with government officials and international institutions. The only issue here is whether we go for an international treaty or along the way to an international treaty, we get as much action from individual countries and regional compacts as possible. The reality is that once we can stop flaring gas, and once we can fix leaky pipes, and once we have the technology to appropriately monitor and enforce then this can help us bring the world back from the brink. We all are here because we know that methane is 80 times more destructive than carbon. And we know, however, that it lasts in the atmosphere for a considerably shorter period than carbon. And therefore, we have a moral obligation to follow the scientists on this issue and to recognize that we can, in fact, reverse temperatures, I'm told by the scientists, by as much as 0.3 to 0.5 of a degree. Now at a time when so else little is happening in the climate area, this is the one area, I call it the love conversation, the win-win conversation. The oil and gas sector can make more money and profits by fixing pipes and monetizing gas instead of flaring it. If they do it, a percentage of it should be reserved for warp speed, to use President Trump's language, for warp speed investigation and research into how we can have greater decarbonization carbonizing technology that can be applied at commercial scale. This is the bridge to us winning the battle against carbon. And if we don't get the bridge right, we cannot complete the journey. So I hope that the countries who are here recognize that we don't need 193 states to agree to a convention for it to become real. But if we have the majority of countries moving in the right direction, then believe you me, countries will follow because the private sector will earn more money. and the farmers ultimately who are fighting a battle not only against the quality of degrading soils, but fighting a battle against the worst aspects of the climate crisis through drought or floods, they too will be given a sustainable pathway for being able to support their families. This is the right thing to do. Some say, why has it not been done before? Because some people doubt it. Well, great causes have never been won by doubtful men and doubtful women. great causes equally have been won by people claiming ground and moving again. And if we start with those who are in this room alone and we make the determination that this is the way to go And even in the absence of an international treaty, we can all pass domestic legislation and put the resources in place to do the right thing while continuing to fight for the international treaty. So I hope that the Secretary General's efforts here, I'm happy that, and this is last year, when we met in Brazil last year, we were disappointed that it was not on COP30's agenda. But we agreed with the Secretary General that we would continue work and hence this meeting here is a promise made, promise kept. But the promise kept by him means nothing if the rest of the countries in here do not make movement and progress on a matter that the scientists are so clearly leading us on. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:18:31]: Prime Minister, thank you so much for your inspiration and for calling us to to action. There are more than 160 countries that have joined the Global Methane Pledge that are willing to do something. There are more than 150 oil and gas companies who have signed up voluntarily to address methane in their operations, in their facilities, in their pipelines. So we have a coalition of the willing, I believe. Barbados · Prime Minister · Mia Mottley [1:19:00]: What we do need, if you will permit me, is the monitoring and the enforcement, because it's easy to say that I've signed on, but we need a mechanism to make sure that people are doing what they say they're doing. The technology is there. We discovered that at the G7 meeting in France, but it requires now a group of the willing, a coalition of the willing to take action and to go into Turkey with that aggression such that others, people like to see success. And once they start to see that there's a group of us moving in this direction, I think it's possible. The other thing, of course, is this, that this is what creates, and some may not like to hear it, but this is what creates a sustainable future for the fossil fuel industry to contribute positively and appropriately to global causes in terms of development. Right now, we go to COP and we talk as if commitment equals capacity. when in truth and in fact the commitments that are given at COP are not supported by the capacity of the world to deliver. And therein lies the problem, so that we may end up winning the battle against the climate, but then losing the battle with respect to growing inequality or other developmental challenges that we've not been able to address purely because of the imbalance of how we've approached it. So we really, in the language of President Macron, have to support both people and planet, and that is what we have come to see and to recognize that if you want countries like mine to have a credible relationship with the fossil fuel industry, the conditions which we've laid on it is that the companies with whom we operate can only be those companies who have a credible platform or meet in. If not, don't come looking for my business. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:20:49]: Yes, thank you again, Prime Minister. Credibility, trust, data, monitoring, reporting verification. I believe these are the elements that you have highlighted that we need to add to that coalition of siblings that we have in place. And we will work hard, all of us here in this room, to do exactly that, ideally before the COP31. With that, I will move on with my list of speakers. We have France next on the list. Her Excellency, Ms. Delphine from the Ministry of Ecological Transition, please. France · Delphine [1:21:32]: Afternoon, Prime Minister, ministers, distinguished participants. Thank you very much, first of all, for convening this important dialogue on methane. Over the past few years, we have seen considerable progress in transparency on methane emissions. thanks to technological advances from satellites to airborne and ground-based measurements. And the data revolution is well underway with increasingly precise satellite observations and improved direct measurement capabilities. And better data should help operators identify leaks and super emitting sources, governments design effective policies, and investors and buyers distinguish between different levels of methane performance, a critical step towards a near zero methane intensity marketplace. During France's G7 presidency, and thank you, Prime Minister, for referring to our event, we made the issue of transparency, among other many issues, a priority last May. And several announcements were made in this area, in particular to strengthen the capacity of IMO's MARS system. IMO announced an extension of its sectoral coverage to coal and also beyond fossil fuels to waste. as well as a new framework developed with IEA to strengthen countries' response to more alerts, which is one of the elements of the call from the ESG. Industry coalitions such as OGMP, OGDC, and OGCI have also been contributing to improving MRV practices, including through the sharing of best practices and technologies between international and national oil companies, But efforts should go further, particularly to increase transparency at the asset level and for non-operated assets. Regulation has also an important role to play in establishing a more consistent and comparable framework with appropriate verification, as the Prime Minister was referring to. This is what the EU methane regulation is seeking to achieve. And while the implementation architecture is still being rolled out, it is important that all actors continue to move forward and contribute to making this framework operational and effective. Voluntary action must continue to be ambitious and drive action, and especially while regulatory frameworks are being fully put in place. Looking towards COP31, we should see further progress on asset level transparency and on non-operated assets, as well as across the coal value chain, including metallurgical coal. We should also continue to see improvements in the quality, the coverage, and comparability of methane data, and in transparency on the action that follows detection including improvements in MARSS response rates. In this regard, we would welcome even greater transparency in MARSS monthly list of top 50 super emitting sources with information not only on whether operators have responded to alerts, but also on the status of the response where known and whether action is underway and whether any obstacles, including financial obstacles, remain to addressing the leak. And all this is very much in line with the UNSG's call to action on methane, which France fully supports. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:25:55]: I thank France, and I have heard your call. And UNEP has to respond to that. We are operating this e-mail system and the satellite-based alert system that can detect methane plumes. And the response rate, indeed, as you have mentioned, is one of the elements of the SG's call to action to increase that response rate. And we will, in UNEP, and I'm committing on behalf of UNEP to that, we will work on this. over the months to come, and we are committed to increase that response rate to 80%. With that, I'll continue with my list of speakers. European Commission, Ms. Celine Gauer, the Director General for Energy, is my next speaker. Please, can you tell us what is the EU doing and what can the EU do better and more and faster? EU · Director-General for Energy · Celine Gauer [1:26:59]: Thank you very much. Thank you very much for organizing this dialogue and having us there. So we strongly welcome the UN Secretary General call to action for methane. It rightly identifies methane as one of the fastest, most effective levers to slow near-term warming and to keep the 1.5 degree Celsius within reach. So fossil fuel sector must be on immediate priority where proven technologies already exist And around 75% of oil and gas methane emissions can be avoided with existing measures, often at very low cost. This is why the global methane pledge, now with 159 countries and the EU on board, remain indispensable. It is not only a political signal, it is the main goal-organizing forum for implementation. Stronger policies, better measurement, more transparency, and increased investment in abatement across fossil fuels, waste and agriculture. The EU is taking this responsibility extremely seriously. Our methane regulation establishes binding monitoring, reporting and repair requirements and bans routine venting and flaring across the oil, gas and coal sectors in the EU. It also acts to reduce the emissions associated with our imports. And I'm very proud that it should help eliminate 1% to 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. By implementing this framework pragmatically with flexibility, we are showing that methane action can support both ambitions and security of supply. We are also supporting partners directly and indirectly, one of which is the UNEP International Methane Emissions Observatory, who is leading the methane data revolution with super emission detection and notification. OGMP 2.0, and also the Methane Emission Index. Bilaterally, we're also working with partner governments around the world to support good methane measurement and mitigation practices, facilitate technical expertise, and support the development of regulation. Our message is very simple. The tools exist, the framework is there, and the economic case is very clear. The task now is collective implementation. And through the Global Methane Pledge, strong regulation and practical cooperation with partners can work. So this is where we stand. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:29:30]: Thank you. Thank you so much to the European Commission. And I'm turning to Canada next. Ms. Andrea Sherston, Director for Environment and Climate Change, can I ask you for your intervention, please? Canada · Director for Environment and Climate Change · Andrea Sherston [1:29:51]: Yes, thank you. Oh, can everybody hear me? Sorry. Thank you very much. I'd like to thank the UN and UNEP and Bloomberg for convening us all today. I'm very happy to be here. I'm also very happy to be here on Lenapehoking, which is the traditional territory of Lenape people. And I just would be remiss to not thank the European Commission for having laid out the importance of the Global Methane Pledge. as Canada is the other co-convener of that, along with the European Union. And I just wanted to maybe take a moment to talk about Canada's priorities with respect to where we see the importance of driving down methane emissions, and that's very much in the regulatory space. So our experience has confirmed that methane regulations, particularly in the fossil fuel sector, are a low cost and effective way to achieve substantial methane emissions reductions in a manner that protects economic competitiveness. We were one of the first countries in the world to regulate oil and gas from new and existing facilities in 2018, and we did this in collaboration with the oil and gas sector as well as those provinces, so our provinces and territories, to ensure that the regulations were achievable and that could be implemented, tailored to the specific needs of their regions. Today, because of that, Canada has one of the best performing oil and gas sectors in the world in terms of reducing methane emissions. We then introduced in 2005 enhanced methane regulations, which are expected to drive methane emissions significantly lower this decade, delivering an estimated 72% reduction below 2012 levels in 2030. And we truly do believe that these regulations can lead to new economic opportunities, providing the certainty to industry to drive investments in clean technology and innovation. And I think we've seen that particularly in Canada, where after our regulations have been introduced, we have seen our methane mitigation economy grow to 130 methane mitigation firms, which doesn't seem like a lot, but Canada's quite small, so it's good for us. And we do expect that this will continue to grow. We are increasingly seeing that oil and gas is being regulated through the global markets, and we do think that Canada's achievements in this sector reinforce our reputation as a stable and responsible energy supplier. And it also does reinforce that we will continue to work collaboratively with our like-minded partners through the Global Methane Pledge and also with the UK on the drastically reducing methane emissions in the global fossil fuel sector. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:32:29]: Thank you. Thank you so much, Canada. And also, as a co-chair of the Global Methane Pledge, thank you for your leadership. I turn to Kazakhstan next. Mr. Dida Temenov, Director General of the Department of Multilateral Cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sir, you have the floor. Kazakhstan · Director General of the Department of Multilateral Cooperation · Dida Temenov [1:32:49]: Thank you, Martin. Dear Excellencies, dear colleagues, Kazakhstan considers methane emission reduction to be one of its priority areas of national climate policy. Just recently, on the 1st of September, we have adopted a roadmap for the implementation of the strategy of achieving carbon neutrality of Kazakhstan by 2060. And particular attention is being given to practical measures to reduce emissions in key sectors of the economy, including methane. For Kazakhstan, empirical data and transparency are increasingly becoming the foundation of practical policy and regulation in the area of methane. Through the OGMP 2.0 and use of independent measurement data, including satellite observations, we are improving our understanding on the actual sources of methane emissions and their scale. This enables us to identify priority emissions sources and develop more targeted measures to reduce them. International cooperation plays an important role In implementing these measures, Kazakhstan cooperates with CCAC, CATF, OGCI, IAEA, IMO, Carbon Mapper, ADB, EBRD, and other partners to improve regulation, monitoring, and reporting, deploy advanced technologies, and mobilize financing. I'll give you just three examples. With the support of the clean air task force, a draft amendment to the environmental code has been developed providing introduction of separate instrument of state regulation of methane emissions and establishment of a legal framework for a national methane emission reduction program. The amendments also provide for the introduction of emission monitoring and inventory plans. Together within the framework of cooperation with Triple GI, a national roadmap for optimizing gas flaring has been developed And the pilot project for the flare gas utilization at Ataro oil refinery has been prepared in Western Kazakhstan. The project's emission reduction potential is estimated at approximately 2,880 tons of methane and 170,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year. And with OGCI, we're able to detect the methane emissions from oil and gas facilities using GHG sat and their support operators, then support operators in addressing those emissions. And the World Bank 2026 report says that Kazakhstan has reduced flaring by 87% since 2012, despite increasing the volume of oil production. We therefore view transparency not as an end in itself, but as a tool for action. Better data enable us to identify emission resources, establish appropriate regulatory frameworks, prioritize mitigation measures, and subsequently verify the results achieved. I thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:36:03]: I thank Kazakhstan and I thank Kazakhstan also because you have the largest number of mitigation actions confirmed through our mass satellite system. So that is real leadership there. Thank you. I turn to Germany now. Ms. Heike Henn, Director General for the International Climate Action. Heike, please, the floor is yours. Germany · Director General for International Climate Action · Heike Henn [1:36:25]: Thank you so much, Martin. Colleagues, good afternoon. Thank you for organizing this important meeting. And I think in London, we all heard the call for action by the UNSG. And looking at the rest of the year, COPs to come, and the end of the second term, so let's put our hands together to really build a legacy also for this call for action. And I think it's so great to listen to all of you and the great examples from the producer side and the consumer side. And of course, this starts with knowledge, knowledge about the contribution of methane and other gases to the climate change, to what we now know will be overshoot. but also the knowledge about technologies and measures and the economic win-wins also in that. And then, I mean, for consumers as producers, the question is, okay, how do we act on this knowledge? I mean, Germany, for once, also supports the different activities and actors like UNIP and others to build this knowledge and to provide the data. But then, I mean, knowing what we know, so what to do about it. The first step is, of course, always voluntary. And it's so great that we have these champions and so around the corner, not around the corner, but around this table, jet lag and everything. So, and not reading though also. So the voluntary action being front runners is always great because you move before others. But then, I mean, we are now really beyond that. So the different examples, like you were also explaining, on really having firm regulation so that consumers or producers, they have predictability, but also they don't have to decide, ah, is it now a bit going too tough, so I'm going a bit less firm on my standards? No, I mean, we are now at the point that we have to act on the knowledge in a really firm way. And I mean, Delphine, you mentioned the EU methane regulation, and I can only say regulation done by many is much easier than if few are trying it. So let's team up also on that. I mean, to team up on regulation. And I mean, I will not shy away also in Germany or Europe, we have the discussion on, will there be enough gas? And what about the costs? So we have the figures also that in 27, I think the highest standard is then more than the demand of Germany, Japan and Korea, if I'm not mistaken. So, so amount might not be the question. And I mean, with what kind of cost are we putting up this year? So going back to normal is what we all want to do. I mean, normal meaning reducing fossil fuels, but to a lesser price also. And then maybe the additional costs of higher standard and so on, on the producer side of things, cannot be an issue. So I think, yeah, we support all the different initiatives, global methane pledge and also the UK-led China-Europe initiative from COP30. So can we do better at COP31? Can we have something also in our joint multilateral outcome? I say yes. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:40:21]: I thank Germany, acting on the knowledge That's exactly summarizing it, I think, what we need to do here. I will continue with my speakers list, but I will ask the speakers to shorten their interventions. Otherwise, I will be accused for mismanaging this meeting, because then we will have at the end speakers on the list that had no opportunity actually to speak. So if I may, please ask you to shorten your interventions to allow everybody to speak. Azerbaijan is next. Mr. Elchin Alaverdiyev, head of the Climate Diplomacy Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The floor is yours, sir. Azerbaijan · Head of the Climate Diplomacy Department · Elchin Alaverdiyev [1:41:11]: Thank you, Martin, and good afternoon, dear colleagues. As both an energy-producing country and also holding once a COP presidency, We believe that methane action should deliver several objectives at the same time, such as reducing emissions, improving efficiency, strengthening energy security, and supporting economic development. For Azerbaijan, the oil and gas sector offers some of the most immediate opportunities for methane reductions. This is also where Azerbaijan is already taking concrete actions. We have submitted our NDC 3.0 last year and advanced our 2050 targets by 15 years where the methane sector holds very significant share of the reductions. In 2022, the oil and gas sector accounted for around 29% of Azerbaijan's total greenhouse gas emissions, with methane from venting and fugitive emissions among the main sources. Azerbaijan joined the Global Methane Pledge in 2024, and the SOCAR, the national energy company, has established medium and long-term objectives for its directly operated assets, including eliminating routine flaring by 2030, reducing upstream emissions intensity by 30% by 2030, and achieving near zero upstream methane intensity below 0.2% by 2035. Furthermore, SOKA joined OGMP 2.0 in 2024 and submitted its first report in 2025. It has also developed an advanced MRV system and the Methane AI platform, bringing together data from satellites, drones, and other sources to strengthen methane measurement and mitigation. It's also worthwhile to underline the strong regional cooperation to accelerate methane abatement. In 2025, SOCAR, together with KazMunGas from Kazakhstan and Uzbekneftegaz from Uzbekistan, launched the Caspian Methane Emission Accelerator, moving regional cooperation towards a practical action at operational sites. SOCAR and BP are also working to strengthen methane measurement, reporting, and mitigation capabilities among operators in Azerbaijan. Ladies and gentlemen, we recognize that methane performance is increasingly becoming a market issue. Higher standards can support stronger investment and innovation, but higher standards must be accompanied by partnership. The global low-methane energy market cannot be built only through new obligations for producers. Consumer countries, international financial institutions, and technology providers all have a role in enabling producers, particularly in developing countries, to meet higher standards. Our message is, therefore, simple. Raising ambition should be complemented and supported by creating enabling conditions for implementation. We need finance, technology, capacity building, and international cooperation to turn methane commitments into measurable reduction. This is a way making energy sector more efficient, strengthening energy security, and supporting a credible pathway to our broader climate objectives. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:44:28]: I thank Azerbaijan, and I turn to Australia next, Ms. Amanda Wormald. branch head from the Department of Climate, Energy, Environment and Water. The floor is yours, please. Australia · Branch Head · Amanda Wormald [1:44:43]: As other speakers have said, 1.5 degrees, despite the overshoot report that UNEP has published now, remains the ultimate aspiration of our global targets, and methane undoubtedly has a role to play in helping us achieve and minimise the overshoot to the extent possible. Within Australia, our approach has always been to take methane seriously, and as a result, it has always been covered in our all-economy, all-of-greenhouse-gases approach. It is our belief that you cannot reduce what you cannot measure, and you cannot track that which you do not report. And so, over two decades of continuous improvement and innovation, we have developed and refined world-first independent monitoring systems. We go beyond the international reporting requirements, publishing national inventory updates by gas, including methane, and by sector every quarter. We follow the new research, data, technologies, and practices at home and abroad to further enhance the quality of our inventory. Our National Greenhouse and Energy Report scheme is one of the most technically sophisticated of its type in the world, including direct measurement methods for venting from oil and gas operations. And open-cut coal mines in Australia are increasingly applying the highest IPCC method tier. We pair this measurement, reporting, and verification with investment in actual reductions. Our safeguard mechanism is a regulatory tool that requires our biggest emitters to ratchet down their emissions, including methane, year on year. We've invested over $42 million to develop and demonstrate technologies to cut methane emissions from our coal industry. Most recently, our National Science Agency reported successful large-scale field trials at a coal mine, which achieved a 98% methane destruction efficiency using novel technology. It's this kind of investment in the pillars that will get us to the point of being able to deliver on a zero emissions or near to zero emissions methane marketplace. And I'm delighted that Australia is able to contribute in the work that it is doing on that front. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:46:38]: Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Australia. My next speaker is from Bloomberg Philanthropies. We have Ms. Anta Williams, who is the environment program lead. and Bloomberg Philanthropies is one of the co-conveners, actually, of the Solution Dialogue and a firm and steady supporter of methane action. Thank you. Bloomberg Philanthropies · Environment Program Lead · Anta Williams [1:46:57]: Thank you so much, Martin. We're really pleased to support UNEP's efforts to reduce methane emissions through MAO. So thank you for the partnership, and thanks to all the leaders around this table. The Secretary General's call to action set. The right target with near zero methane emissions from oil and gas, and it's the largest, as we know, cost effective reduction available to us. And the technologies and operating practices already exist. The challenge, as we know, is not only to improve. Methane measurement, but to ensure that better information leads to faster mitigation. Better data can identify major emission sources more quickly and precisely, but that only matters when governments have the policies and institutions to respond and when companies act on what's been found. That's why we've expanded our methane work to strengthen the full chain from monitoring to rapid response to practical action by governments and industry. What we've learned from that work is simple. When a company's leadership is shown a map of its own leakage, it usually wants to fix it. Visibility changes behavior, but only when someone is positioned to act on what it reveals. Looking ahead, three priorities matter most. First is stronger policy frameworks so that methane transparency is built into regulation, public accountability, and clear expectations for action. Second, stronger implementation capacity so data reaches the institutions and decision makers who can act on it quickly and at scale. And third, stronger industry response because companies able to address these emissions should do so with urgency. This is also the foundation for the near-zero marketplace this dialogue is working toward. Buyers cannot reward low methane production without measurement that they can trust and compare. Philanthropy can support all three, investing in data and the experts who translate data into actionable insights, supporting the implementation of policy and programs which identify and repair methane emissions, and convening governments, experts, industry, and civil society to drive the collaboration and progress that we need. We're entering a new era of methane visibility. The task is now to make that transparency not only impressive, but useful, embedded in policy, translated into implementation, and matched by concrete industry action. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:49:24]: I thank Bloomberg Philanthropies, and I turn to the International Energy Agency, Ms. Sophie Westlake, who is the Senior Advisor on Multilateral Engagement and Strategy. Ms. Westlake, you have the floor, please. IEA · Senior Advisor on Multilateral Engagement and Strategy · Sophie Westlake [1:49:40]: Thank you so much. And, yeah, good to see everyone today and really interesting discussion. So thanks for the contributions so far. I'll try and be quite brief. A lot of what I think I would cover has already been said. As noted, the IAEA has always put out this figure that we could reduce methane emissions by some, well we now have 77 percent, so even more than three quarters, by adopting, using known technologies, existing technologies and measures on a wide scale. But the truth is that emissions in the fossil fuel sector are not decreasing despite that technology being available and despite many really good examples of how it can be deployed. So, I think the project as we see it is how do you create a framework that enables buyers to select those fuels with near zero intensity so that we can really accelerate and push that abatement process. And from our modelling that we see, If you did successfully create that signal, you created that demand for low emission gas and oil, then you could have quite an immediate effect. So we've modeled this at 20%. that if those major countries of major demand sent that signal effectively, you would see that drop of 20%. But then if you also applied that domestically, you would see that go up more significantly. So we've been working closely with the group of countries that led by the UK statement at COP30 that signaled this intent to create that near-zero methane intensity marketplace to build a voluntary framework that enables buyers to select those fuels with a near-zero intensity. And this also importantly responds to action item three of the UN Secretary General's call to action to adopt a science-based global methane standard. So we've been conducting consultations all this year with industry, governments, fossil fuel buyers, and other stakeholders. And we are developing this framework along the basis of four foundational building blocks for how you would go about building that near-zero methane intensity marketplace. And this includes what we really need is access to transparent emission performance information. We need a consistent framework for buyers to compare emission performance. And there are lots of available certificates out there or different schemes, but the point is to work together to work on a system that allows you to compare, that allows also producers to understand what they're being asked from those different importer markets. We're also, the third element of this, the building blocks is a buyer's trust in emission reporting. And then the fourth is clear incentives for buyers to select low intensity fuels. So you need to have faith as the producer that the buyer is actually wanting to buy the lower emission fuel. So to address these requirements, the IEA has developed a framework. This is based on reporting upstream methane performance at an assets level, which is an important, I think, distinction from some of the certification schemes that are available. We think that's the way to eventually go. And it also uses a dual grade system that reflects methane intensity and data quality. So you're looking at both the intensity of the methane, but you're also looking at the reliability of the data that you're getting. So, I think all of this comes together with this idea that, you know, if this group of countries is willing to move forward, we will get there by working together. And the work that we want to do over the next couple of years is very much aimed at facilitating that. Different countries can have different approaches. And I think, you know, we've talked a lot about the EU regulation, super important signal, but other countries are also doing other things, and there is a way that we can bring those all together so that we send a strong signal to the overall marketplace, but it doesn't require a unified approach. I'll leave it there. Thank you very much. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:54:15]: I thank the IEA for the very practical suggestion and also for your partnership along this way. I turn now to the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, Mr. Bjorn Otto Swedrup, who is the chair of the executive committee. So the floor is yours. OGCI · Chair of the Executive Committee · Bjorn Otto Swedrup [1:54:35]: Good afternoon, everybody. Is this on? Yeah, okay. So I think thanks to UNEP and Bloomberg and UN to convene this meeting, and thanks for inviting us. I guess I'm the only one from the oil and gas industry, so it's important for me to say I believe that the methane emissions from oil and gas are too high, and we also are of the view that all methane emissions from this industry can and should be avoided. So I think we have the leadership now to be willing to get rid of it. And also I think we need to do a shout out to and recognize the technological achievements over the last years to make the invisible gas visible. It's possible to understand it, to report it, and to mitigate those methane mix. That wasn't the case five, 10 years ago, but it is the case now. So the 12 members of OGCI since the inception has reduced methane emissions with around 62%. So those 12 companies represent around 27% of the world's oil and gas, but only 1% of the methane emissions. So that's very encouraging, right? It is possible to nearly bring emissions down to near zero. It didn't happen by accident. It is the result of thousands of activities, changing operational procedures, designing tools differently, doing repairs, fixing every day on the ground. So you need to have a buy-in from the industry to fix this. What I think we're missing today is to recognize that not all companies are equal. There are some companies with a higher, and some countries even, with a higher methane intensity than others. And we need to work hard to say, how can we get them on track to join this? That's why we launched this oil and gas decarbonization charter at COP a few years ago. Today, 56 companies have joined that, most of them national oil and gas companies. I'd like to recognize Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, so many around the table here who have national oil and gas companies, who dared to come forward and say, we're going to go for zero methane, zero flaring, without having a clue about their emissions. Now, three years in, we have trained engineers. They have been willing to undertake and start to build a baseline and to understand their emissions and underpin that with specific action plans, and also to be part of satellite or aircraft campaigns, as our friends from Kazakhstan mentioned. My advice or message today would be to say, I think we're on a good journey. Let's now try to build on some of the frameworks that's existing. So OGMP 2.0 is a great work, IMEO, MARS, OGDC, and make sure we have industry in the room when we're trying to fix this, because ultimately it's a technical solution. Something technical needs to happen on the ground in order to get rid of methane emissions. Secondly, work to get more companies to join some of these efforts. There are companies who are comfortably in the silent, bring them in. And then there are some countries which is unaccessible for business. Here, diplomacy have a key role to play. And then the last one is bring the industry as part of it. I think we're on the same side of the table here. Let's try to use the capacity and the momentum of the industry to address methane. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [1:58:23]: Mr. Swedrup, I want to thank you for being so courageous to be here with us in this room. You said you are the only representative from the private sector, from the companies, so it's great that you are here and that we can have this dialogue together. And as I said before, we have, through the OGMP, we have formed a coalition, it's a voluntary coalition of more than 150 companies in the oil and gas sector that are coming together, that are discussing, and that are committing and taking steps. So this is really a fantastic movement. I will continue now with the European Climate Foundation, Dr. Laurence Tubiana, who is the CEO of the foundation. The floor is yours, please. ECF · CEO · Laurence Tubiana [1:59:08]: Thank you very much. Thank you to the Secretary-General, Tim Selwyn, UNEP and Bloomberg to really advance this dialogue. And I think the call for action of Antonio Guterres was very strong and we should listen to him again and again. I think Maya Motley and many others said the thing, it's time to act now. I think we know, we have the data, we know the methodology. Some companies are doing that already very well. And still, as you said, from the IEA, the emission of fossil fuel in the sector are still very high. 2025 level is really high. We have no sign of the downtrend. So the reality is there. So, yes, countries are doing good, some companies are doing good. This not deliver when every fraction of degree counts. And we are talking about overshoot, and we are talking about now the excess deaths, the extreme events, the costs that are now immense for every economy, the rich, and of course, even more the poor. So, It's just like sometimes we can't understand. I think the world bank started this reflection 2004, if I'm not wrong. Come on, we know how to do it. And you said technologies are there, companies are doing it. And I think the moment to go a step further is really important. That's why So we know why we have to do this missing reduction. We know that, and it's tough being European when we have a good system of regulation we want to put in place to receive so many pressure not to implement it. So I think the first thing is EU should do the job without delay and not pretending unfortunately, that this will raise the energy prices, which is not true. There is, as you say, enough viable oil and gas that is really looking at the methane emission that reduce that methane reduction. So wanting to delay the regulation again is not true that it will put in danger our energy security. Is a buyer the buyer market is really important. So the buyer market has to be very, very serious. And that's true that now the, it's really the whole highest missing reporting standards is expected to be available with, we know the fact now and that well above, for example, European import requirement. So I think this, It's not the first time that, or there are diplomatic pressure, or there are a discussion about energy security or prices. It's not only on the same, by the way, it's on many elements. We then delay action on climate. So, on one side, I think all of us, all of you can support EU to keep firm. We need that. Second, I think we have to deal with the fact that even if we can do a lot on methane on agriculture and food, which would be very important, our Prime Minister Motley said, we have to couple that with the effort around clean electrification. And, you know, and I will stop there, we are in a so particular moment of the energy crisis. Some say that even that the demand of oil may contract because of the instability. So the buyers market will have even more power. So see the progress on clean electrification combined with emission reduction, we can have a real impact that is at scale for the goal on slowing global warming. So that's why I think as Prime Minister Modi says, It's very important to maybe act quickly on oil and gas. I think the rest will be more complex, evidently, even if waste is easy, but that is a political commitment we should do, because that's where, finally, it's more difficult to resist to all this pressure. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [2:03:26]: Thank you so much. Dr. Turianna, and with that, we come to the end of the first segment, which is oil and gas, fossil fuel. As I said, we are talking about waste and agriculture now. We don't have a lot of time. We have a few speakers on waste and a few speakers on agriculture. Yes, it's not exactly, you know, we have not exactly separated the sectors. We have mixed it a little bit. And I have to ask the following speakers to limit their interventions to two minutes. Otherwise, we are not able to go through the program. I have now as my next speaker, Chile, Her Excellency, Ms. Francisca Toledo, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Chile. Please, the floor is yours. Chile · Minister of Environment · Francisca Toledo [2:04:18]: Thank you very much for the invitation, for giving the opportunity to talk about the Shikla economy agenda we are applying in our country. Before, I'd like to apologize for my voice. My voice, I do my best to make myself understood. I rather had a bad cold. Well, we're starting the waste management. It's one of the structural pillars of our ministry. We're working hard in this. It's a very critical situation in Chile. The Chile system management has several structural problems, like low recycle rates, heavy reliance on landfills, limited capacity in landfills, and even illegal dumping and others. We are focused in on converting those landfills into a comprehensive treatment centers, coordinated with other secretary of the government. And by highlighting, for example, the progress in methane mitigation in the waste sector has been a result a gradual process of building capacity and developing a current policy framework. For example, in 2024, we approved our sectoral waste plan under the framework law on climate change, and we have committed to achieve a 66% recovery rate of organic waste managed at the municipal level by 2040. And in our latest NDC, we established specific commitments to reduce methane emission, and we're trying to achieve 10% reduction by 2035. And more recently, in Chile, long-term climate strategy that actually is going under public consultation right now. We have proposed to regulate the main source of methane emission through carbon pricing instruments and emission standards. And also, we are recently issued an authorization letter to one of Chile's largest landfills to transact international mitigation outcomes under Article 6. We know this is an advance we are building, but we are very aware there are still important challenges. And for example, 32% of the municipal waste is currently disposed in facilities that have already reached or are going to reach in the next years their useful life. And we have these highlights actually the need to accelerate investment in the gap infrastructure we have right now. But the part of the question we have, we receive is like make emphasis in the cost efficient initiatives. And I like to point that it's important that any action have to consider that is at the end of the day on economic instrument. And those, so have to consider the particular reality of the each country and the nature of the industry and even the nature of the logistics change. Sometimes we forgot that and we have problems implementing the different regulations. In Chile, actually, we're trying to confront this from three ways. Now, first, we are creating business models that provide sufficient predictability and security for investors through carbon markets, instrument and emission standards that can unlock investment. We are reducing project development timelines. We're doing those for all the projects in Tula. And also we are strengthening our coordination between the different authority, different regional governments and the private sector. Our experience of all the implementation we're doing shows actually that the methane mitigation in our waste sector requires first coherent policy framework and appropriate economic incentives. And that's a very important issue in CCI. Sometimes we forgot that. And sustained collaboration between the public and private sectors. the combination of the three aspects, it can turn methane reduction opportunity in concrete economic and, of course, scalable investment. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [2:08:52]: Thank you so much. Thank you, Chile. Again, I'm appealing to the speakers to limit their interventions, please, otherwise we will never get through our list of speakers. And we have a hard stop at 10 past 6. Next on my list, Indonesia, His Excellency Mr. Joe Jumhur Hidayat, who's the Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Indonesia. Sir, the floor is yours. Indonesia · Minister of the Environment · Joe Jumhur Hidayat [2:09:19]: Thank you, Chair. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to join this important dialogue. Indonesia recognized that accelerating methane mitigation is one of the important opportunities to deliver climate, environmental, health, and economic benefits simultaneously. For Indonesia, however, methane mitigation must move from commitment to implementation with measurable sections, credible MRV, and adequate support for finance, technology, and capacity building. Indonesia has strengthened its policy framework through presidential regulation with the aims to improve recycling through waste processing facility and expand waste management services. Allow me to highlight three priorities. First, we must address methane at its source. In the waste sector, Indonesia is transforming the conventional collection, transport, disposal model toward integrated waste management and a circular economy. Our approach is simple, avoid, divert, and capture. Number two, we must avoid unnecessary organic waste generation, divert organic waste from landfill through segregation, composting, and resource recovery. And where methane generation cannot yet be avoided, capture and utilize landfill gas. Second, methane mitigation must support a just and economically viable transition. The transition away from open dumping must improve environmental performance while protecting waste workers, waste pickers and surrounding communities. It should also create opportunities for green job, resource efficiency, circular economy and local economic development. The cradle to cradle principle places industrial waste as a resources that can be retained in value and reutilized in the production cycle. Methane mitigation can go hand in hand with resource efficiency, economic value creation and the development of circular economy models. Implementation ultimately happens at the local level. Therefore, national targets and standards must be accompanied by solutions that reflect different local capacities and circumstances, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Third, international cooperation must increasingly focus on implementation and investment. Developing countries need more than studies and policy support. We need partnership that can translate priorities into bankable and scalable project, combining grants, concessional and blended finance, climate finance, technology transfer, capacity building and project development support. Carbon finance can provide an additional incentive and improve project viability, but it should serve as a catalyst for investment, not a substitute for financing essential waste management service. Excellencies, Indonesia believe that the way forward can be summarized in three words, prevent, capture, transform. Prevent methane generation wherever possible. capture and utilize an available emission of wastewater such as from palm oil mills effluent or POME. Transform waste management into a circular, low emission and economically productive system. Indonesia remains committed to working with government, international organizations, financial institutions and the private sector to move from plates to implementation, from pilot project to scale and from methane mitigation to adjust and circle transition. I thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [2:13:05]: I thank Indonesia, and I turn to Japan next. His Excellency, Mr. Sekiya Takeshi, Vice Minister of Global Environmental Affairs. The floor is yours, sir. Japan · Vice Minister of Global Environmental Affairs · Sekiya Takeshi [2:13:18]: Thank you. Thank you for giving me the floor. Japan is honored to join this dialogue today. Japan has limited land available for landfilling and long work to minimize the amount of waste sent to final disposal sites. To address this challenge, we have significantly reduced waste volumes through incineration and also developed advanced landfill management technology to curb methane emissions from the landfills. I would like to highlight an important technology of waste to energy. By incinerating non-recyclable waste, waste-to-energy facilities generate heat that can be converted into electricity. This technology significantly reduces the volume of waste requiring final disposal, helps curb greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, and contributes to reducing dependence on fossil fuels. And as urbanization continues and waste generation increases, Waste energy is expected to play an increasingly important role in many cities and countries. Regarding landfill management, Japan developed a semi-aerobic landfill system known as the Fukuoka method. This approach delivers significant environmental benefits, in particular reduction of methane through enhancement of microbial activity and promotion of the decomposition of waste. This low cost and easy to operate landfill technology has been widely developed, widely adopted in more than 20 countries in Asia, Africa, and other region, and supporting developing countries to achieve many goals such as climate, pollution, and sanitary urban environment. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [2:15:18]: Thank you, Japan. And I turn to South Korea. His Excellency, Mr. Jongho Koo, the climate ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The floor is yours, sir. Republic of Korea · Climate Ambassador · Jongho Koo [2:15:30]: Thank you, Chair. Korea is part of the global methane pledge, and we adopted a national methane reduction roadmap in 2023. In particular, we aim to cut methane emission from our waste sector by 50% by 2030. This has provided a clear policy direction for a meta mitigation and sent clear signal for private investment. Korea has prohibited the direct land filling of the food waste since 2005, and we required household to separate organic waste from the general garbage. Now around 98% of the food waste is recycled. mainly for fertilizer and animal feed. Methane generated from the organic waste is also captured and used for energy such as district heating. At the same time, Korea has supported methane gas capture and power generation project across Asia and Latin America under Article 6 cooperation. Through this market mechanism, we encourage private sector investment in methane reduction project in developing countries, thereby contributing to their methane mitigation effort and transition toward cleaner energy. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [2:16:58]: Thank you. Thank you, South Korea. And with that, we have completed our list of speakers on the topic of waste. We are moving to agriculture. I have six speakers remaining on my list in total. I'm asking you, please, to keep it as short as possible. Otherwise, I will have a problem later on for not allowing everybody to speak. So I'm turning to the United Arab Emirates, Her Excellency Dr. Amna **** Abdullah Al-Dahak, Minister of Climate Change and Environment. Madame, the floor is yours. United Arab Emirates · Minister of Climate Change and Environment · Amna **** Abdullah Al-Dahak [2:17:37]: Thank you, Your Excellency, and I'm not going to give you a long introduction. I'll jump direct into it. We know that 40% of the human caused methane is coming primarily from rice cultivation and livestock. And we can't just be talking if we want to talk about serious energy or just transition, we need to ensure that methane reduction works for farmers and livestock keepers. The answer is not to ask them to produce less or to bear the cost alone, but we have to enable them to produce more efficiently, strengthen their livelihoods, and build resilient and reduce emissions at the same time. This means that we have to invest in better animal nutrition, animal health, and herd management, strengthening extension services, improving access to finance and inputs, and using digital technologies to reach farmers at scale. This is the approach we are using to advance through AIM4Scale, through the partnership between UAE and the Gates Foundation, where we designed a full package, integrated solutions for livestock productivity, designed to bring those solutions together and measure their impact on productivity, livelihoods, food security, and of course, on methane intensity. The message here is clear. action should strengthen, not undermine, food security. Us as governments, development banks, researchers, private sector, we should all work together to move proven solutions from pilots to scaled implementation. The solution exists. It's our responsibility to enable the farmers and all the people who are producing our food to make it accessible, affordable, and practical. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [2:19:18]: I thank you for being so short in your speech. Really appreciate it. I turn to the Philippines. His Excellency, Mr. Daniel Naisa, Assistant Secretary for Integrated Management Systems in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Sir, the floor is yours. Philippines · Assistant Secretary for Integrated Management Systems · Daniel Naisa [2:19:35]: Thank you, Mr. Moderator. Excellencies, the Philippines supports the UN Secretary-General's urgent call to action on methane. We must say we are pairing national policy with concrete sectoral level solutions. First, on fossil fuels. While the Philippines is a minor fossil fuel producer, we advocate for transparency as the absolute foundation for progress. We support robust monitoring, reporting, and verification frameworks like oil and gas methane partnerships 2.0 to eliminate venting, flaring, and avoidable leaks. Through our three-year ASEAN-Korea cooperation for methane mitigation project, we are strengthening enabling policies, improving emissions measurement, and designing bankable projects. Second, in waste, to transition our local government units to circular waste systems, we must divert organic waste from landfills and capture wastewater methane. We're scaling up the national strategy to reduce short-lived climate pollutants from the municipal solid waste sector in the Philippines and the successful pilots from the Cebu City's CCAC supported assessment, which demonstrated the power of waste separation, composting facilities, and the stakeholder-led material recovery to achieve zero landfill targets. Third, on agriculture. In a region where food systems are increasingly stressed by changing weather and supply disruptions, methane action must reinforce food security. Through the accelerating scaling of low emissions rice project with the CCAC and International Rice Research Institute, the Philippines is pursuing an aspirational 15% reduction in rice sector methane emissions by 2030, while deploying advanced remote sensing MRV systems. Under another project with the CCAC, Clean Air Asia and IRRI, we are finalizing a national rice sub-sector strategy to help analyze mitigation scenarios and co-benefits in the sector and ultimately inform our NDC implementation plans. Excellencies, voluntary action is no longer enough. To unlock these solutions, Finance and incentives must align with the Baku-Belém Roadmap commitment to mobilize 1.3 million annually for developing nations. Let us turn these discussions into action to secure a cooler, cleaner, and more resilient future. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [2:22:23]: I thank the Philippines. I turn to the Environmental Defense Fund. Mr. Fred Krupp, who is the president, is here with us. Please, sir. EDF · President · Fred Krupp [2:22:33]: And as the honorable minister from the UAE said, the solutions for livestock are there. The technologies are there. They include better animal health, improved manure management, food supplements like Boviar. The issue is that these are big changes for farmers, and the farmers need access to these tools and financing and technologies and policies. An example is manure management. We know it can reduce methane emissions from manure by 60%. But a bio digester can cost a million dollars. So we've got to get creative with the policies and assistance from governments and the buyers of these products. EDF has started something called the Dairy Methane Action Alliance with a bunch of big companies like Danone and the Bell Group. These companies are committed to disclosing their emissions and also publishing publicly their plans to reduce their emissions, and that. Means. They are supporting on-farm solutions and giving the farmers they need. The only other example I'll mention is Boviar. It's a supplement that's cutting methane emissions 30 percent. It's now on the market and approved in 70 countries. And yet, there's no direct benefit for the farmers. There's just a benefit for the emissions. We need to come up with other feed supplements that benefit the farmers and increase production and come up with other ways for buyers and government to support the use of these supplements. It's got to be a business opportunity and make sense for the farmers. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [2:24:13]: Thank you so much. I will turn now to the Clean Air Task Force, Mr. Jonathan Banks, who is the chief of programs and advocacy. Sir, you have the floor. CATF · Chief of Programs and Advocacy · Jonathan Banks [2:24:27]: Thank you. I'll be brief. So as Fred said, the technologies in the cattle industry are available to reduce emissions today. Better food, better feed, better genetics. They are not being deployed at scale, not because of anything other than primarily a market problem. that is not recognizing what's needed to get the kinds of finance and solutions to farmers around the world. Three quick points. First, we need to integrate methane mitigation directly into our agriculture policy from the NDC down to the national and subnational agriculture plans. This needs clear goals, metrics, and a financing strategy that can begin to help unlock the international finance that's needed to drive the kind of change we need. Second, we need to take the risk off the farmers, loan guarantees, blended finance, below market credit, new tax mechanisms, and insurance programs that can reward lower methane practices. And third, we need to invest in context-specific technologies that are developed in coalition with the private sector that can really build the conditions for market mechanisms, things like high-value. Carbon credits to help fund the uptake of solutions. We do have the solutions. What we need is the market architecture that can put all of this in place. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [2:26:01]: Thank you. Thank you so much. And I will turn to Greenpeace, Mr. Mads Christensen, Executive Director of Greenpeace International. Sir, you have the floor. Greenpeace International · Executive Director · Mads Christensen [2:26:12]: Thank you very much. And I will also be talking about the livestock sector as the largest single source of human-caused methane emissions. And of course, we will be digging our heads in the sand if we thought for a minute that the Global Methane Pledge could be achieved without addressing emissions from this sector. Currently, livestock production continues to expand unchecked, driving superheating methane emissions, deforestation, drinking water pollution, and extinction. This directly contravenes our efforts. The industrial agriculture sector has successfully pushed the narrative that livestock emissions are simply too difficult to reduce and are lobbying for subsidies and deregulations that allow industrial methane emissions to grow unchecked, projected to rise by 30% by 2050. Most governments have largely bought into this strategy, leaving agriculture methane largely unregulated. It is time for general political courage to confront the fundamental truth, namely that we can reduce livestock emissions by shifting away from industrial production towards nature friendly farming that restore biodiversity, sequestering carbon, revitalizing rural economies, and restore power to local farmers. Thank you. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [2:27:28]: Thank you so much. Greenpeace. And my last speaker, Marcelo Mena, who is the CEO of the Global Methane Hub. Marcelo, I apologize. You have one minute. We have other ministers waiting outside of this room. Another session is overdue to start in this room. Apologize. Can you summarize the last two hours in one minute? Global Methane Hub · CEO · Marcelo Mena [2:27:49]: Of course. Now, as the UN Environment Programme recently released, there's a report that shows that doing what we just heard 1 benefit to cost ratio. We could reduce 0.3 degrees by 2050. It's the fastest way to reduce warming and it's a solution to the climate crisis that we much need. So it is the emergency brake, so we should. Pull on this emergency brake and it will bring food security, energy security and clean air for everybody. Thanks so much. UNEP · Director of Climate Division · Martin Krause [2:28:17]: Fantastic. And thank you so much. I have seen so much passion, so much energy, so much momentum in this room. Let's build on that. Thank you, everybody.