Page 4 - LatAmOil Week 47 2021

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US, Canada, Mexico talk up

joint methane strategy plans

The first trilateral North American summit in five years ends with a pledge from Biden, Trudeau

and Lopez Obrador to establish a North American strategy for methane and carbon emissions

US President Joe Biden, Mexican President “especially oil and gas.” The three countries will
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian also focus on reducing black carbon from “diesel
WHAT: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a joint vehicles and engines, [gas] flaring, wood-burn-
Mexico, the US and Can- pledge to create a North American strategy on ing appliances and shipping,” the statement said.
ada intend to join forces methane and black carbon emissions last week.
to reduce greenhouse gas The pledge came during a trilateral North Building on the Global Methane Pledge
(GHG) emissions. American summit – the first such gathering in This joint initiative follows the launch of the
five years – held in Washington, DC. The three Global Methane Pledge, a joint US-EU plan to
WHY: leaders met in the US capital in a bid to revital- cut global methane emissions by at least 30%
This strategy will focus ise mutual co-operation, despite Mexican and on 2020 levels by 2030. That pledge was first
on reducing emissions in Canadian opposition to certain policies of the unveiled by the US and the EU in September,
all sectors, “especially oil Biden administration. and it was formally launched at the COP26 UN
and gas.” While no major breakthroughs were Climate Change Conference earlier this month.
announced, the three leaders did commit to So far, more than 100 countries, including Mex-
WHAT NEXT: taking concrete actions in support of joint goals ico and Canada, have signed on to the pledge.
US political fights may relating to a variety of issues, including the coro- Methane emissions are seen as the
hamper the passage of a
proposed tax on methane navirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the fostering “low-hanging fruit” of emissions reduction
emissions. of competitiveness and regional responses to efforts, with methane leaks from energy infra-
migration. Among these pledges were several structure considered to be the cheapest and
initiatives relating to the fight against climate easiest sources of methane to identify and fix.
change, including a plan for formulating a joint Given that methane’s heat-trapping potential is
methane and black carbon strategy. considerably higher than that of carbon dioxide
According to a White House statement, the (CO2), calls for reducing methane emissions
North American methane strategy will be aimed have taken on new urgency as more countries
at reducing methane emissions from all sectors, begin to prioritise addressing climate change.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 47 25•November•2021