Methane, a potent greenhouse gas almost 30 times stronger than CO2, continues to receive little attention from policymakers in the UK. Because it is short-lived in the atmosphere, cutting methane emissions now could rapidly slow down climate change, reducing average temperatures by 0.2°C.

The COP28 climate summit will be a chance for the UK to demonstrate leadership and act on methane. An ambitious methane action plan would help to restore the UK’s former climate credibility. In this short report we show what the UK should do and why.