Australia signs up to Global Methane Pledge
The Australian government has announced that it will be joining the “Global Methane Pledge”. The pledge is a voluntary commitment to reduce methane emissions in sectors such as energy, waste management and agriculture. The US, EU and the UK have already signed up to the non-binding commitment. Institutional investors have been lobbying policymakers to take action on methane emissions, given methane’s extensive footprint on climate change. As part of its commitment, Australia will invest $3bn in “low-emissions technologies and component manufacturing and agricultural methane reduction”. Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, said: “The Australian government will continue to partner with industry to decarbonise the economy and pursue emissions-reduction initiatives across energy and waste sectors including capturing waste methane to generate electricity”.