Nigeria is among the countries set to benefit from a $100 million investment aimed at reducing methane emissions. Announced by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, the funding will support the collection of methane‑monitoring data from a global network of satellites. This initiative will also aid policy efforts in nine countries—including Australia, Indonesia, Mexico and Nigeria—as well as U.S. states such as California and New Mexico, helping them curb methane leaks.
The announcement comes as dozens of national leaders gather in Belém, Brazil, for the annual UN climate summit. The COP30 conference marks three decades since global climate negotiations began. While some progress has been made in curbing emissions, it remains insufficient to prevent extreme global warming in the coming decades. Although leaders from four of the world’s five most‑polluting economies—the United States, China, India and Russia—are absent, the conference is still expected to advance climate action. Pedro Abramovay, vice president of programs at Open Society Foundations, suggests that the U.S. absence may allow for a more multilateral conversation.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is engaging with leaders from various regions—including China, Africa, Southeast Asia and Europe—on climate issues. He is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and other heads of state.
The $100 million investment is part of a broader effort to reduce global methane emissions, which have risen since the 2021 pledge to cut emissions by at least 30 % from 2020 levels by 2030. Scientists have urged countries to halt emissions of this potent greenhouse gas as a first step in tackling warming. The conference will feature speeches from 53 heads of state and more than 40 subnational leaders, including UN Secretary‑General António Guterres, aiming to promote cooperation and action on climate change despite growing concerns about the effectiveness of multilateral efforts. As the world marks three decades of climate negotiations, the need for collective action to address global warming has never been more urgent.
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