Zeroing in on methane diplomacy, at COP29 : Valley Vision

‘Methane may be a side issue in the overall COP29 agenda, but it presents a significant opportunity for India to fast-track its efforts in reducing methane emissions’
| Photo Credit: Reuters

From November 11 to 22, 2024, world leaders will gather in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Dubbed the “Finance COP”, representatives from every country will, for the first time in 15 years, set a new global climate finance goal, known as the “new collective quantified goal” or NCQG. The host country, Azerbaijan, has put forward an action agenda, which includes pledges to increase battery storage capacity six-fold, dramatically expand electricity networks, and cut methane emissions from organic waste.

Methane’s climate impacts are severe, accounting for around 30% of global warming since the pre-industrial era, and its atmospheric concentration is rising rapidly. Crucially, on a 100-year timescale, methane has 28 times greater global warming potential than carbon dioxide and is 84 times more potent on a 20-year timescale.

This means that cutting methane is one of the most effective levers we have to slow near-term temperature rise and buy time for the longer-term CO2 reductions needed to stabilise climate change.

Common ground between U.S., China

Despite tensions in their relationship, the United States and China have found common ground in addressing non-CO2 greenhouse gases such as methane. The two countries joined hands with the United Arab Emirates at COP28 (in Dubai, in November-December 2023) to sponsor a summit on methane and other non-CO2 emissions.

That month, in November 2023, China also released its first national plan for controlling methane emissions. While the plan eschewed specific mitigation targets in favour of capacity building, it signalled China’s acceptance of methane as an area for action and cooperation with the U.S.

India, the world’s third-largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions behind China and the U.S., has an opportunity to leverage the U.S.-China methane partnership to gain sector-specific financing and capacity-building support.

According to the India Third Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the country emitted 409 million tons of CO2-equivalent methane in 2016 (excluding land use and forestry), with agriculture accounting for 74%, waste for 14%, energy for 11%, and industrial processes for 1%. Methane’s detrimental effects go beyond its impact on climate change. Fires at waste dumpsites, for example, can cause significant spikes in air pollution. In 2022, a two-week fire at Delhi’s Bhalswa dumpsite led to particulate matter concentrations reaching 30% to 70% above baseline levels at nearby air quality monitoring stations.

But the dominance of agriculture, particularly livestock and rice cultivation, is what makes India hesitant to announce economy-wide methane reduction targets or sign the Global Methane Pledge championed by the U.S. and the European Union at COP28, which seeks to cut emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. However, the U.S.-China focus on methane creates an opening for India to seek targeted assistance for reducing emissions from specific sectors such as waste management.

Waste management programmes

The Indian government has developed a strong regulatory framework for waste management, but weak local capacity hampers implementation. However, it is working to expand innovative solutions across the country. A notable example is the model pioneered in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, which pairs citywide organic waste sorting with a large biomethane plant that produces fuel for buses. The government is also promoting the Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBARdhan) scheme, which incentivises cattle waste utilisation and clean energy production in villages. These initiatives are part of the broader Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 programme to improve solid waste management. However, cities need more support to scale up organic waste management to its full potential. In the agriculture sector, the government is implementing climate-resilient practices through the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA). These include methane reduction techniques in rice cultivation, which can contribute to substantial emissions reductions. The National Livestock Mission also promotes practices such as green fodder production, silage making, chaff cutting, and total mixed ration to reduce methane emissions from livestock.

An opportunity in the U.S.’s plan

This is where COP29 and India’s methane diplomacy come in. The U.S.-China methane partnership, while limited compared to their past cooperation, still creates an opening for India to seek concrete assistance for its methane mitigation efforts. In particular, India can leverage the U.S. methane push to gain financing and capacity-building support for reducing emissions from its waste sector, which produces over 14% of its methane. India’s 2016 inventory estimates these sources as producing around 4% of India’s methane emissions. But underlying data quality (emissions factors as well as waste stream volumes) is poor. Satellite monitoring on Delhi and Mumbai, for instance, suggests that emissions levels are 50%-100% above commonly used estimates and that dumpsites alone account for more than a quarter of Mumbai’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Methane may be a side issue in the overall COP29 agenda, but it presents a significant opportunity for India to fast-track its efforts in reducing methane emissions. The Government of India has laid the groundwork with its existing policies and initiatives.

However, to effectively scale up the implementation of proven technological solutions worldwide, India now requires targeted international support in financing, capacity building, and technical assistance. By leveraging the U.S.-China methane partnership and proactively seeking this support at COP29, India can tap into the resources needed to accelerate its progress in methane abatement.

Rakshith Shetty is a Research Analyst at Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru