Methane is a short-lived but powerful greenhouse gas that is responsible for about a third of the total global warming we are experiencing today. Methane warms the planet about 30 times more than CO2 over a 100-year period, but over 80 times more over a 20-year period. The more concerned we are about global warming in the short term, the more we should focus on reducing methane emissions.

In 2021, the EU, together with the US, launched the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) at COP26, the primary goal of which is to reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020. By March 2024, 158 countries had signed the GMP, including Denmark. The Global Methane Pledge emphasizes the importance of rapidly reducing methane to limit global warming to 1,5 °C in line with the Paris Agreement.

In the Methane Matters project, we are working with a wide range of European organizations to significantly reduce methane emissions in the relevant sectors in Europe and increase European leadership in the implementation of the Global Methane Pledge. European methane emissions come from the agriculture, waste, energy and LULUCF sectors, with agriculture accounting for the largest share of emissions in a Danish context.

The Methane Matters project is structured like an atom, with the core consisting of Deutsche Umweltshilfe, Changing Markets Foundation, European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Environmental Investigation Agency (EEA) and Zero Waste Europe, while the Green Transition Denmark, together with a large number of non-governmental organizations from various European countries, constitute electrons around it.

The project will focus on the sources of methane emissions in Denmark and how emissions can be reduced. We will work to pave the way for a political implementation of a national methane reduction plan that aims to reduce methane emissions by 40-45% by 2030, thereby providing a plan for meeting the GMP target.

The main project partners behind 'Methane Matters' are: