Top Highlights

• Part of the enthusiasm surrounding this tri-national commitment stemmed from a recognition that energy-sector methane ranks among the technologically easiest and lowest-cost greenhouse gases to mitigate.
• Technologies to measure and monitor methane and capture it for use as natural gas are increasingly available, maturing rapidly, and often highly cost-effective.
• Captured methane retains considerable commercial value if used as natural gas rather than wasted.
• Given these complementary factors, methane is routinely characterized as “low-hanging fruit” for climate policy
• The new global pledge also includes other sectors such as agriculture, which poses different technology challenges and represents a difficult constituency for political leaders to address.

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