India co-chairs Global Methane Initiative

India co-chairs Global Methane Initiative

Part of: Prelims

Context: Global Methane Initiative (GMI) is a voluntary Government and an informal international partnership having members from 45 countriesincluding the United States and Canada. 

• The forum has been created to achieve global reduction in anthropogenic methane emission through partnership among developed and developing countries having economies in transition.
• The forum was created in 2004 and India is one of the members since its inception and has taken up Vice-Chairmanship for the first time in the Steering Leadership along with USA. The Chairperson of the Steering Leadership is from Canada.

Emission of methane is a big concern as it is a greenhouse gas having 25-28 times harmful effect than carbon dioxide

About Methane

• Methane is a greenhouse gas.
• It is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of its global warming capacity. 
• Approximately 40% of methane emitted is from natural sources and about 60% comes from human-influenced sources, including livestock farming, rice agriculture, biomass burning and so forth.

News Source: PIB