On 9 November, leaders from Brazil, China, and the United Kingdom announced historic plans to reduce greenhouse emissions other than carbon dioxide, such as methane, marking what they described as a “turning point” in the global battle to prevent climate change.

Ministers and delegates from Barbados, France, Germany, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, and Bloomberg Philanthropies attended a high-level Methane Summit that the three countries co-hosted with assistance from the COP30 Presidency.

The goal of the meeting was to promote swift and concerted action against short-lived climate pollutants, which cause global warming more quickly than carbon dioxide.

Ministers stressed that reducing hydrofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, and methane is one of the quickest methods to keep the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius while enhancing food security and public health. They demanded greater accountability, openness, and collaboration between nations and sectors. The UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva announced the launch of the Super Pollutant Country Action Accelerator, a multi-year initiative under the CCAC.

Through national “Super Pollutant Units” based on the Ozone Units of the Montreal Protocol, the programme will assist 30 developing nations in reducing methane and other super pollutants by 2030.

An initial $25 million package will be shared by the first seven nations: South Africa, Nigeria, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Brazil, and Cambodia.

In its first phase, the programme seeks to raise $150 million to support economic growth, agricultural resilience, and public health.

“Global warming is significantly impacted by short-lived greenhouse gases like methane,” Silva stated. “We have a chance to protect lives and stay within 1.5°C if we reduce their emissions.” Supported by Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Norway, and the European Commission, the United Kingdom also released a Statement on Drastically Reducing Methane Emissions in the Global Fossil Fuel Sector.

Ending routine flaring and venting by 2030 is one of six important steps that participants in the accord agree to do throughout the oil and gas value chain.

Additionally, it demands better measurement and verification, more assistance for producers with low and moderate incomes, and the formation of a panel to create a methane market with almost zero emissions by 2026.

“One of the quickest and most efficient ways to slow global warming is to cut methane and other non-CO₂ gases,” Miliband stated. “The United Kingdom is striving to translate aspirations into action.” Liz Thompson, the ambassador of Barbados, said that the survival of tiny island states is at risk due to uncontrolled methane emissions. She called on oil and gas firms to take action, citing Hurricane Melissa’s $10 billion destruction in Jamaica.

According to Thompson, lowering global methane emissions is essential for social stability, economic sustainability, and survival. COP31 should move forward with talks for a legally binding methane deal, she added.

Controlling methane and other non-CO₂ gases is essential to global climate efforts, according to China’s Ecology Minister Huang Runqiu. “The entire world must work together to address climate change, which is a global challenge,” he stated.

Methane reduction provides “the fastest results” to halt warming, according to COP30 CEO Ana Toni. She invited representatives to participate in COP30’s methane-focused activities, such as a roundtable with ministers. When taken as a whole, the declarations signal a clear turn towards concerted international action to address “the other half” of climate change. According to leaders, their goal is to include methane reduction into national and international commerce, development, and climate policy frameworks.

“Our biggest challenge is a lack of time,” Toni stated. However, the most immediate effect is provided by methane reduction. It’s time to take coordinated action.

Countries at the summit demonstrated their intention to translate commitments into real achievement by coordinating national plans, creating more equitable markets, and fortifying regulations—pulling, as Silva described it, “the climate emergency brake”.