Home Highlights 2025 The role of parliaments in reducing methane emissions

The role of parliaments in reducing methane emissions

January 31, 2025 | Activities

Today, in line with their new cooperation agreement, ParlAmericas and the Governance Institute of the Andean Parliament joined efforts to facilitate an interparliamentary dialogue on one of the most pressing climate challenges: reducing methane emissions—a key measure for mitigating climate change and promoting sustainable development.

Given methane’s high heat-trapping capacity, which makes it one of the leading contributors to global warming, this virtual event Reducing Methane Emissions: A Legislative Agenda explored policies and initiatives aimed at cutting emissions in key sectors.

The session was opened by the Honourable Representative Juan Carlos Losada of Colombia, Co-Chair of the ParlAmericas Green Economy Caucus, who underscored the importance of decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation. He emphasized that reducing methane emissions is not just an environmental imperative but also an opportunity to drive innovation, optimize costs, create sustainable jobs and generate new income streams.

Participants also had the opportunity to assess progress toward the goals of the Global Methane Pledge, a voluntary international initiative promoting strategies and projects to curb emissions of this potent greenhouse gas.

During the session, Juan Pablo Letelier, Director of the Andean Parliament’s Governance Institute and former Chilean senator, highlighted the importance of incorporating methane reduction into national legislative agendas. He also introduced the Parliamentary Climate Action Platform Against Methane, a network committed to achieving a 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030.

The panel discussions, moderated by Senator Anthony Vieira from Trinidad and Tobago, Vice-President for the Caribbean for the ParlAmericas Parliamentary Network on Climate Change and Sustainability (PNCCS), examined different approaches to methane reduction, including circular bioeconomy practices in agriculture, the role of women as changemakers in waste management, and regulatory frameworks that promote methane’s use in electricity generation from wastewater treatment as part of a circular economy. 

The session concluded with remarks from the Honourable Senator Rosa Gálvez from Canada, President of the PNCCS, who called for strengthened regulatory frameworks that accelerate methane reductions in line with the Global Methane Pledge and in preparation for COP30, which will take place this year in Brazil.

Today’s session was part of a series of activities that the PNCCS is undertaking in the lead-up to COP30.

This meeting was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.