COP27: US President Joe Biden announces limits on methane emissions

US President Joe Biden announced the measures at COP27, the 27th United Nations climate conference. According to administration officials, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will require oil-and-gas companies to monitor and repair methane leaks at existing production facilities. In the maiden twenty years in the atmosphere, methane captures 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide. It is responsible for nearly half of global warming since pre-industrial times.

President Biden will announce an additional $100 million for the United Nations Adaptation Fund as climate scientists say floods, droughts, and hurricanes will become more frequent and more severe as the Earth's atmosphere and oceans warm. At last year's Glasgow climate summit, the United States pledged $50 million to the fund. As part of a planned rule affecting hundreds of thousands of oil wells, reservoirs and natural gas processing plants in the US, companies must replace leaking and ageing equipment and purchase new controls.




Wealthier nations are concerned that loss and damage expose them to spiralling liabilities. Scientifically, it's hard to tell which effects are caused by climate change and which are normal seasonal variations. John Kerry, the US climate envoy, said he's open to losing and damage talks this week.

FAQs:

1. What is COP27?
   COP27 is a United Nations conference on the issue of climate change present in the world.
2. Why is methane gas responsible for climate change?
   Many scientists have concluded from their observations and research that methane gas is the biggest contributor to climate change as it traps all the emissions being released from the Earth.