GRIST • September 27, 2021
Last week, the US and EU launched the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to slash methane emissions 30% by 2030. But environmental justice groups point out the pledge is vague on a key issue: How it will enforce cutting emissions from the largest source of methane globally — agriculture. Food production is responsible for 25% of global methane emissions every year. In the U.S., the sector accounts for 36% of the country’s methane, surpassing the coal and gas industry, which generates 30%. Yet, the global reduction pledge only mentions voluntary programs to reduce agriculture’s climate impacts. To address its rising methane emissions, the industry has championed “biogas,” capturing methane from waste ponds and feeding it into natural gas pipelines to power nearby homes and businesses. Environmental justice groups believe the solution lies in leaving behind this type of industrial facility.