More than 80 countries vow US and EU pledge to slash methane emissions by 30% by 2030 (File)
More than 80 countries have signed up to a US and EU pledge to slash methane emissions by 30 percent by the end of the decade, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday.
Cutting the powerful greenhouse gas by a third from 2020 levels will "immediately slow down climate change", she told the COP26 climate conference.
She said around 30 percent of global warming since the Industrial Revolution is due to methane.
"Today global methane emissions grow faster than at any time in the past," she said adding that reducing methane is one of the most effective ways to reduce near-term warming and keep the Paris goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming alive.
"It is the lowest hanging fruit," she said.
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