Methane inquiry launched by Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee

The House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee has launched an inquiry into methane emissions.

The main aims of the inquiry are:

• To understand the impact of methane on climate change and warming, and the main benefits of delivering methane reduction targets;
  
  
• To explore the UK’s progress on its existing commitments to reduce domestic methane emissions, and what further progress can be made;
  
  
• To understand the significance of the UK’s contributions to reducing methane in a global context, and what UK action, and what kinds of action, will have greatest impact.

 , The Committee is seeking evidence in the following topic areas:

• International commitments, including the Global Methane Pledge;
• Data, measurement and monitoring;
• UK methane emissions and sectors:
  agriculture,
  waste and waste management, including wastewater,
  fossil fuels.  

Baroness Sheehan, Chair of the Environment and Climate Change Committee said;

“Methane is a powerful but short-lived greenhouse gas. Its concentration in the atmosphere is increasing globally and it is responsible for a third of the climate warming since the start of the industrial revolution.

At COP26 in 2021, the UK was one of 155 countries to sign the Global Methane Pledge, “to keep a 1.5°C future within reach” and agreeing to take voluntary actions to reduce global methane emissions by 30 percent compared to 2020 levels, by 2030.

Our inquiry will seek to find out whether the UK is on track to achieve this target, in-turn helping to limit warming while also delivering benefits to human and ecosystem health.”

The complete list of questions, plus details how to submit evidence by the deadline of 11.55pm on 15 April 2024, is on the Committee’s website.

Notes to Editors

1. Methane emissions constituted 14% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.[1] Since 1990, the UK has seen a 62.5% reduction in methane emissions, although the rate of reduction has slowed in recent years.[2] The Climate Change Committee’s 2023 Progress report to Parliament set out the UK’s methane emissions by sector. The agriculture sector represents the largest contribution to methane emissions in the UK (49.2% of total UK methane emissions in 2022), followed by the waste (29.9%) and fuel supply (8.3%) sectors[3].

2. The link to the call for evidence questions is - https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/3369/