IGSD Urges UN to Declare Human Rights Obligation to Reduce Methane Emissions
28 February 2025- In response to the UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change and Human Rights’ Call for Inputs on the Fossil Fuel-Based Economy and Human Rights, the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) submitted its recommendations underscoring the urgency of reducing fossil fuel-based emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), particularly methane, to slow global warming and prevent escalating human rights violations.
Fossil fuel emissions—of both CO2 and SLCPs—are the primary drivers of climate change. In its submission, IGSD stresses that only a targeted strategy which combines the “marathon” to decarbonize energy with a “sprint” to reduce SLCPs can avoid the worst human rights impacts of climate change. Rapid action is necessary because global temperatures are already dangerously close to the 1.5°C threshold, beyond which climate feedback loops and irreversible tipping points risk a non-linear intensification of warming.
Failure to mitigate near-term warming will disproportionately harm frontline communities who are more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, extreme heat, food and water insecurity, and displacement. IGSD therefore urges the UN Special Rapporteur to emphasize in her report that reduction of methane and other SLCPs is a legal obligation under international human rights law, and that immediate, enforceable action is essential to protecting both people and the planet.
“Cutting methane is the fastest and most effective way to slow warming in the near term. It is also among the most cost-effective climate strategies, with proven technologies available for implementation today,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development. “Yet, as we noted in our submission, current global efforts to reduce methane emissions remain overwhelmingly voluntary and insufficient. Legally binding obligations are needed to hold States and businesses truly accountable.”
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) recently found that States have a due diligence obligation to act on climate change. IGSD’s submission suggested that the highly successful Montreal Protocol (1987) and Kigali Amendment (2016) provide a clear example of how States can take diligent action in the face of a climate emergency and can be a model for future global action on methane.
For media inquiries, please contact Katie Super at ksuper@igsd.org
