How the Global Methane Hub is Targeting One Potent Contributor to Climate Change

Launched during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, the Global Methane Pledge is a multilateral agreement among more than 150 countries representing over 70 percent of the global economy and half of methane emissions. The pledge aims to reduce collective methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030. While independent from the pledge, the Global Methane Hub was created to bring awareness and funding to the issue. As the first coordinated approach to methane mitigation funding, the Hub is working to support the stakeholders committed to making the pledge a reality.

Based in Santiago, Chile, the Global Methane Hub now has a presence in over 100 countries, and more than half of its team is based in the Global South. The Hub focuses specifically on the highest-emitting sectors—namely, the energy, agricultural, and waste sectors, which currently account for 96 percent of the methane emitted as a result of human activity. The project’s work is three-fold: support ambitious, catalytic investments; lay the groundwork for the long-term transformation of challenging sectors; and deliver quick wins in sectors that are ripe for action on the ground.

Over the past several years, the Global Methane Hub has achieved a number of significant wins. For example, the initiative partnered with Rocky Mountain Institute, the Clean Air Task Force, and Google.org to develop a tool known as the Waste Methane Assessment Platform (Waste MAP). “When left unchecked, big emitters of methane emissions, like landfills, create serious public health impacts and threaten the quality of life for communities around the world,” said Marcelo Mena, CEO of the Global Methane Hub. This product combines groundbreaking AI technology with satellite data to track and monitor landfill emissions from major cities in order to better inform policy and decision-making by key stakeholders. Working with grassroots organizations in the United States, India, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Nigeria, the Hub petitioned local governments to implement the Waste MAP technology. As a result, this pioneering and collaborative project has made significant strides in harnessing innovation to raise awareness for methane reduction. 

At the most recent UN climate conference (COP28), over $1 billion in new funding was announced for methane reduction as part of a larger Methane Finance Sprint. This massive increase in funding will be leveraged for methane mitigation across sectors, in partnership with entities such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Other successes that arose from this event included strengthening collaboration with Chinese partners, a new import standard for methane production set by the EU, and commitments to lower organic waste methane in cities with some of the largest emissions. 

Another significant initiative the Hub launched is the Enteric Fermentation R&D Accelerator. Its goal was to raise $200 million for research and development into new technologies focused on reducing livestock emissions. It established a science oversight committee to help evaluate submissions and worked in partnership with Danone’s social innovation funds and universities around the world. Marcelo Mena-Carrasco, the Chief Executive Officer for the Global Methane Hub, explained how this work contributes to their guiding vision of “collaborat[ing] with governmental and non-governmental entities to scale up cost-effective solutions in methane mitigation and contribute to transformational change.” See the Global Methane Hub’s 2022 Impact Report for more information on its work. 

The Windward Fund is proud to have supported the Global Methane Hub to achieve these remarkable successes over the past two years. The project’s account team has been especially crucial in facilitating numerous global grants at speed and scale, and with Windward’s support, has found creative solutions to reaching even remote geographies. Overall, Windward’s willingness to work and learn alongside the Global Methane Hub as one collaborative team has helped enable the group to identify and implement lasting solutions.

Looking ahead, the Global Methane Hub plans to continue expanding its work into other high-impact regions, such as Southeast Asia, Africa, and Brazil. While the team remains hopeful for increased progress and innovation in methane mitigation solutions, they anticipate continued resistance from lobbyists and misinformation surrounding the climate crisis. Raising awareness of methane’s role in climate change will continue to be an important step for the Hub and its partners. “Reducing methane gas is the fastest way to address climate change in the short term,” says Mena-Carrasco.