In lead-up to COP28, the Country Methane Abatement Tool is helping turn Global Methane Pledge ambition into action
As national governments look to make good on their commitments under the Global Methane Pledge (GMP), a powerful and newly updated tool from Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is helping to turn ambition into action with accessible emissions benchmarking and policy development capabilities.
“The Global Methane Pledge saw more than 150 countries commit to reducing global methane emissions 30% by 2030,” said Jonathan Banks, Global Director, Methane Pollution Prevention at Clean Air Task Force. “But successful implementation will require robust inventories of national emissions and the development of effective national mitigation policies, neither of which are always available nor easy for countries to develop. Our new digital platform helps close gaps in country level emissions data and policy expertise to rapidly reduce methane emissions and keep global climate goals within reach. With support from our team, several countries are already using the Country Methane Abatement Tool, or CoMAT, to successfully benchmark methane emissions from their oil and gas sectors and develop effective mitigation strategies with the potential to meet their Global Methane Pledge targets.”
The Country Methane Abatement Tool (CoMAT) is free to use and offers a unique combination of inventory and policy design tools that allows a government regulators and agencies to collect, examine, check, analyze, and evaluate data, gain valuable insights, and build consensus around best mitigation solutions.
CoMAT also offers a high level of granularity and the opportunity to explore regulatory tools that will allow policy makers to make significant progress in achieving their climate commitments and decarbonization goals.
“The ability to estimate methane emissions from the sector and identify main contributors, source proven policies, and model their mitigation impact, all in one place, is incredibly valuable to users,” said Paula García Holley, Latin America Policy Manager, Methane Pollution Prevention at CATF. “It’s because of that utility and ease of use, that government agencies and ministries around the world — including Nigeria, Colombia, and Ecuador — are currently using CoMAT to build capacity, share best practices, develop policies and, ultimately, mitigate methane.”
Methane is more than 80 times more potent than CO2 during its first 20 years in the atmosphere, and methane emissions are rapidly rising. Because of its global warming potential — and its short lifespan compared to carbon dioxide — cutting methane pollution is the fastest way to slow the escalating rate of global warming. Scientists agree that we will not be able to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees or 2 degrees or any target, without drastically cutting our anthropogenic methane emissions.
In December, national governments will convene at the COP28 to assess the impact of global climate action to date in the first-ever Global Stocktake.
“We’d like to see momentum for methane action grow during COP28,” continued Banks. “Actions taken to mitigate methane emissions will definitely factor into the outcome of the Stocktake — and CoMAT will be available to countries that come away prepared to take methane from the oil and gas sector seriously.”
As a global leader, CATF is using CoMAT across continents and a growing number of countries to push progress forward and turn climate ambition into action-driven reality globally.
To learn more about CoMAT or schedule a demonstration, visit https://www.catf.us/comat/.
Press Contact
Steve Reyes, Communications Manager, CATF, [email protected], +1 562-916-6463
About Clean Air Task Force
Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is a global nonprofit organization working to safeguard against the worst impacts of climate change by catalyzing the rapid development and deployment of low-carbon energy and other climate-protecting technologies. With 25 years of internationally recognized expertise on climate policy and a fierce commitment to exploring all potential solutions, CATF is a pragmatic, non-ideological advocacy group with the bold ideas needed to address climate change. CATF has offices in Boston, Washington D.C., and Brussels, with staff working virtually around the world. Visit catf.us and follow @cleanaircatf.
