COP30 Update – November 17

COP30 Continues  

Following a well-deserved break day for negotiators on Sunday, COP30 has now shifted into a deeper implementation phase, with ministers back in Belém for the high-level segment and bracing for long nights as they work to close the remaining gaps. A major highlight of the day was the launch of the CCAC/UNEP Global Methane Status Report 2025 at the Global Methane Pledge Ministerial, which underscored that while global methane emissions are still rising, a clearer pathway to decline has emerged through cost-effective measures across energy, agriculture and waste. Elsewhere, vulnerable nations injected fresh urgency into the discussions, with Jamaica invoking the devastation of Hurricane Melissa to stress that “this is survival,” and Mauritius warning that “our very existence is at stake.” As the high-level segment opened, delegates made clear that movement on finance and ambition will determine whether Belém delivers a credible outcome.

Launch of the Global Methane Status Report 

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The Global Methane Status Report was launched at a press conference featuring European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jørgensen, Deputy Director of UNEP’s Climate Change Division, Ruth Do Coutto, CCAC Head of Secretariat, Martina Otto, and Clean Air Task Force Global Methane Director, Jonathan Banks, and highlighted a clear message: while global methane emissions are still rising, the pathway to reversing that trend by 2030 has never been clearer.

Commissioner Jørgensen underscored what the findings make unmistakable: that methane reductions are essential to keeping climate goals within reach and represent “one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to slow warming.” The report shows that if countries fully implement their current methane plans, global emissions could fall by 8 percent this decade, marking the largest and most sustained decline in recorded history.

Martina Otto presented the report’s main findings, noting that over 80 percent of available mitigation potential comes from proven, low-cost solutions across energy, agriculture, and waste. She also stressed that achieving the Global Methane Pledge’s 30 percent reduction target by 2030 will require fully scaling the more than 40 ready-to-deploy technologies, from leak detection in oil and gas, to improved water management in rice, to better source separation and treatment of organic waste. She highlighted the dual climate and development benefits of action, including avoided warming of 0.2°C by mid-century, more than 180,000 premature deaths prevented annually by 2030, nearly 19 million tonnes of crops saved, and over $330 billion in economic gains each year.

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Photo credit: Kemson Tavdey, CCAC Focal Point in Vanuatu 

Jonathan Banks, lead author of the fossil fuel and energy chapters, also thanked the more than 90 contributing authors and partners behind the report, while Ruth Do Coutto underscored that curbing methane is essential to limiting the coming temperature overshoot and urged governments and industry to accelerate action using today’s low-cost, proven solutions.

Speakers highlighted CCAC’s new Super Pollutant Country Action Accelerator and the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel as critical vehicles for turning the report’s insights into rapid, on-the-ground implementation.

Read coverage of the Global Methane Status Report in The Associated Press, Le Monde, The Guardian, Agence France Presse, Bloomberg, EFE, Times of India, Radio France internationale, and Le Figaro.

Global Methane Pledge (GMP) Ministerial  

The Global Methane Pledge Ministerial at COP30, co-convened by Canada and the European Commission, offered countries an opportunity to take stock of progress and reaffirm methane as a core pillar of the implementation agenda. The session reflected how far the topic has come since the early days of the CCAC, created in 2012 by 6 countries and convened by UNEP to elevate fast, practical action on methane and other super pollutants. 

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Photo credit:  Kemson Tavdey, CCAC Focal Point in Vanuatu 

At the Ministerial, countries showcased concrete progress and strengthened collective action. Chile, Czech Republic, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Senegal all joined the UK-led statement on drastically reducing methane emissions in the global fossil fuel sector, expanding international alignment on eliminating routine flaring and venting and improving measurement, monitoring and reporting across the sector. Chile was also welcomed as a new Global Methane Pledge Champion, reflecting its leadership on agriculture, waste and subnational action.

UK Climate Minister and CCAC Co-Chair Katie White announced that the UK is investing $5 million in international research to cut methane from agriculture, alongside UK support for the CCAC Super Pollutant Country Action Accelerator, which will support 30 developing countries to cut super pollutant emissions by 2030. Minister White stressed that this builds on the work of the Fossil Fuel Regulatory Programme, which UK announced funding for last year.

The COP30 Presidency highlighted the Ministerial as a clear embodiment of the summit’s implementation focus, demonstrating that methane mitigation is no longer an abstract ambition but an area where solutions are mature, cost-effective and ready to scale. Thirteen years after the CCAC was founded, the launch of the Global Methane Status Report provides the clearest roadmap yet for translating this momentum into delivery, supported by the Super Pollutant Country Action Accelerator and the broader suite of initiatives unveiled in Belém.

In Case You Missed It  

Thousands of Indigenous leaders and supporters marched through Belém over the weekend, calling for land rights, protection of defenders, and real inclusion in the COP30 outcome. The demonstration, one of the largest Indigenous mobilizations ever held at a COP, brought together Indigenous communities from around the world, underscoring that climate justice and Indigenous rights are inseparable.    

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