Mission: Methane Action’s mission is to pursue the science and policy advances needed, under careful global governance, to rapidly restore atmospheric concentrations of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, to pre-industrial levels (near 700 parts per billion) for the benefit of present and future generations.
Vision: We envision a near future in which the methane emergency and the imperative for acting on it are widely understood, the science and technologies for both methane emissions mitigation and methane removal are far advanced, and the necessary social engagement, communications, policy, governance, and oversight frameworks for them are in place. By combining aggressive methane emissions reduction with safe, effective methane removal, atmospheric methane could be reduced from its current dangerous concentration of 1900 parts per billion to its preindustrial level.
Methane Action’s mission and vision are aligned with existing global climate goals, including the 2021 Global Methane Pledge signed by over 110 countries to cut methane emissions by at least 30 percent below 2020 levels by 2030, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement target of keeping global warming to well below a rise of 2 degrees Celsius, and preferably below 1.5 degrees Celsius rise in temperatures. The Global Methane Pledge, if fulfilled, has the potential to avoid nearly 0.2 Celsius of warming by 2050. Scaling up methane removal has the potential to return atmospheric methane concentrations to pre-industrial levels, which would avoid approximately 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming.
Developing methane removal methods could be key to addressing naturally occurring methane emissions – which comprise approximately 40 percent of the current total. While methane emissions reduction is the first and most important step for methane mitigation, methane removal methods are potential additional tools that may become viable in the future.
Methane Action believes that achieving net zero by 2050 is no longer enough to ensure a safe future for humanity; we must revise global targets beyond net zero, and commit to net negative strategies urgently.
To learn more about our work and opportunities to support it at our new home, Spark Climate Solutions, please contact Daphne Wysham, (email: daphne at spark climate dot org), (503)310-7042, 211 Taylor St., Suite 403E, Port Townsend, Washington 98368.
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