By Abdullahi Lukman
Government and industry responses to methane emission alerts detected by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have increased from one percent to 12 percent over the past year, according to a new UNEP report.
Despite the improvement, the agency warned that action must accelerate to meet the Global Methane Pledge target of cutting methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.
The findings are contained in the fifth edition of UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) report titled An Eye on Methane: From Measurement to Momentum, which highlights that while engagement with UNEP’s Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) has grown, nearly 90 per cent of alerts remain unanswered.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said that reducing methane emissions is one of the fastest ways to slow global warming.
“Progress on data and reporting must now translate into tangible emission cuts,” she said, urging more governments and companies to respond to alerts and join UNEP’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0).
The OGMP 2.0 initiative, the world’s leading methane monitoring and mitigation standard for the oil and gas sector, now includes 153 companies across 42 per cent of global production.
About one-third of global oil and gas output is being tracked with real-world measurements, with 65 companies achieving “Gold Standard” reporting and another 50 on track to reach it.
Through satellite monitoring and artificial intelligence, UNEP’s MARS has issued more than 3,500 methane alerts across 33 countries since its 2022 launch.
The system has already prompted mitigation action in 25 cases across ten nations.
UNEP plans to expand monitoring to cover emissions from coal mines and waste sites, where data remain limited but reduction potential is high.
IMEO is also extending its work to other high-emission sectors, including steel production through its new Steel Methane Programme, which targets methane from metallurgical coal. The programme will introduce a transparency database combining field studies, satellite data, and industry reporting.
UNEP noted that methane accounts for about one-third of global warming and remains the second-largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide.
Global leaders, including the European Union and Japan, praised UNEP’s data-driven initiatives for enabling stronger accountability and supporting global methane reduction efforts.