Cop26, the annual UN Climate Change Conference being held in Glasgow this year, began on Monday.
World leaders have agreed to a deal that would end deforestation over the next decade. US President Joe Biden also unveiled an action plan to control methane emissions.
The deal is part of a multibillion-dollar package meant to cut greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans.
President of China Xi Jinping, President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro and U.S. President Biden are among leaders who are said to be committing to the declaration. China, Brazil, and the U.S. are among the world’s worst in climate-changing emissions.
Deforestation accounts for nearly a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions. The Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use demands world leaders of the major producers and consumers of products linked to deforestation will commit to protecting vast areas and forest ecosystems.
Biden unveiled a multinational plan to slash global methane emissions by 30 percent. The Global Methane Pledge is already being considered one of the potential successes of the conference.
The multinational plan is led by the US in partnership with the EU, and includes an alliance of 90 countries. The pledge stipulates new regulatory measures to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2030.
The 90 countries include half of the top 30 major emissions countries, and two-thirds of the global economy. Brazil is included for the first time, but China, India and Russia have not yet joined the pact.
As a part of the launch of the Global Methane Pledge, Biden announced Tuesday new US regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency. The US plan includes a rule from the EPA that would push fossil fuel companies to better detect, monitor and repair methane leaks. It is estimated that the new rules will cut 41 million tons of emissions by 2035.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. Experts say that reducing methane is a huge key to curbing global warming.
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