Legal Regulation of Methane Emissions and Its Role in Supporting the Goal of the Paris Agreement: General Issues

This article explores the current legal and regulatory practices on lowering atmospheric methane, the main short-lived gaseous pollutant, adopted by the world’s largest methane emitters. In 2021, many countries joined the Global Methane Pledge (GMP), a joint international initiative, which has since been the guiding framework for estimating and reducing global methane levels. The GMP’s primary task is to support the goal of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Due to methane’s short life and the phenomenon referred to as the methane paradox, it has become clear that abandoning hydrocarbons completely would not guarantee a swift decrease in the radiative forcing of the lower troposphere. Reduction of aerosol emissions will lead to more intense warming during the first ten years, as aerosols are rapidly removed from the atmosphere. The only way to mitigate this effect is to curb short-lived methane emissions. Our findings reinforce previous conclusions and stress the critical need for developing legally binding regulations, both national and international, on greenhouse gas emissions.

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